


Jaune Arc: Man of Steel

by pitviper1157



Category: DC Cinematic Universe, RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crossover, Drama, F/F, F/M, Post-Volume 3 (RWBY), Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 16:50:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 82,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8110075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pitviper1157/pseuds/pitviper1157
Summary: After the Fall of Beacon, Jaune and the rest of them RNJR must travel to Haven in order to learn more about their enemies.  But Jaune soon discovers that he may hold a power far beyond anything the world of Remnant has ever seen.  In these dark times, he must become a symbol of hope for humanity, even thought not everyone sees him as a hero.  DC Cinematic Universe crossover.  Arkos, Renora, Bumblebee, Whiterose. My first Fanfic(please go easy on me.)





	1. Hope

Chapter 1: Hope

Hope: the four letter word that people often use as a reason to carry on in their lives. The word that is arguably the most important thing for a person to carry with them. The word that can inspire mankind to thrive in their darkest hour and push forward to seek out the light.

Hope: something that Jaune Arc has very little of at this moment.

Jaune and his new team, RNJR, were camping out in the middle of a forest in Mistral. They had just arrived in the kingdom a week ago, on a journey to get to Haven Academy in hope of finding out information about their enemies. It was currently one in the morning, the rest of his teammates were asleep as he was up to keep watch for any signs of Grimm activity.

There was a good reason Jaune was the one doing this. Ever since the fall of Beacon, Jaune has entered a state of serious depression. Just a few months back he was enjoying his time at the academy, studying to become a professional huntsman, enjoying life with his friends. 

Then the Vytal Festival happened and everything went to hell faster than Ruby when she activates her semblance.

It was started off as well as it could: Both team JNPR and team RWBY easily beat their competition in the first two rounds, Jaune’s team sent Pyrrha while team RWBY sent Yang. It looked like nothing could go wrong as Yang won her first match against Mercury Black. Then, Yang threw a powerful punch into Mercury’s leg, breaking it easily while the whole world watch. Yang was put under heavy supervision while team RWBY was disqualified from the competition. Yang, all the while, claimed that it was an act of self defence, that Black was the first one to attack. Pretty much no one believed her, even her best friend and partner couldn’t bring herself to fully believe her story.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Pyrrha was acting very strange on the day before her first match of the finals. She always seemed deep in thought wearing a troubled face, rarely ever speaking with her teammates. When Jaune tried to talk with her on the a few hours before her match, she began talking about destiny and sputtered on about not knowing what to do. When Jaune offered his insight on the situation, Pyrrha became more upset and accidently threw him into a wall using her semblance. When she realized what she had done, she began to tear up and ran away from him as quickly as possible. Jaune wasn’t really hurt, but he felt terrible, wondering what he said wrong.

It was when the match took place that things really started to go to hell. Pyrrha was fighting Penny Paulindina from Atlas, a good friend of Ruby and her team who was also a robot. When Penny threw her swords at Pyrrha, she used her semblance to sent them tumbling back. It would have been fine had it not been for the fact that the swords were connected to her body. The extreme force of her swords being pushed back caused the strings to constrict the poor girl's body, tearing her into pieces while the whole world watched. Jaune will never forget the face Pyrrha made after she realized what she has done. She was absolutely mortified and felt extreme guilt for killing a girl on live TV. It was right after this that the broadcast was hijacked by a mysterious woman, one who told the audience that the headmasters of the academy's held too much power and that the kingdoms were on the brink of war with each other.

Shortly after the broadcast, a huge swarm of grimm attacked Vale, drawn to the city by the huge amount of negativity in the coliseum. Jaune and his friends did their best to fight them off, but eventually they had to evacuate due to their being far too many of them to fight. As if that wasn’t bad enough, one of the Atlas military ships was hijacked by Roman Torchwick, who uploaded a virus causing all of the Atlas drones to go rampant and attack innocent people. The last thing the press was able to see before the CCT tower went down was the drones shooting at civilians, putting further distrust between the kingdoms.

To make matters worse, the White Fang also decided to attack Beacon along with the Grimm, arousing even more fear from the civilians. It was when Blake went after an Ursa major that she came across a commander of the terrorist group. Blake attempted to fight him, but she was easily defeated and stabbed in the gut by the man. When Yang tried to save her from the commander, the man easily cut her right arm off with little to no issues whatsoever. Yang fell unconscious from the shock of the event and Blake was retreat with Yang in her arms.

But the worst part of that fateful night, was what happened to Pyrrha. While they were fighting the Grimm in the square of Beacon, professor Ozpin had signalled to Pyrrha to follow him into the tower. Jaune reluctantly followed, wondering what was going on. As the took an elevator down below ground level, the arrived at the vault of Beacon. Ozpin lead to two to a machine with two containment pods, one of which held a girl with a serious facial scarring. Jaune was told to guard them while Pyrrha got into the other pod. It was when he heard her partner screaming in pain that Jaune turned around to see what was happening. An arrow flew into the other pod, hitting the mysterious girl in the chest, causing her to die almost instantly. When Jaune and Ozpin turned around, they saw the very woman that became the bane of Jaune’s existence: Cinder Fall. She had lowered her bow as a mysterious form of energy flew out of her victim and flew into Cinder, giving her an extreme amount of power. Ozpin immediately told Jaune and Pyrrha to run and get help. The two teen ran of as the headmaster got ready to fight the woman behind the attack.  
Soon, the partners had made outside the tower. Jaune immediately took out his scroll in hope of finding Glynda Goodwitch’s number. Pyrrha merely looked back at the tower somberly as Jaue asked her what that was all about. Before she could answer however, the two heard an explosion followed by seeing a fire ascend the tower towards the peak at Ozpin’s office. It was at that moment that the truth gleamed onto the two teens: Ozpin had lost. Pyrrha then told Jaune to go and get help, greatly confusing the boy. It was when he saw his partner look back at the tower with a determined look that Jaune could tell what she was thinking. Jaune tried to reason with Pyrrha, who answered him by taking his lips with her own. Jaune put snake his arms around her waist, deepening the brief kiss. It was after her lips left his that Pyrrha said her last words to him, the two words that have haunted him ever since that night.

“I’m sorry.”

Pyrrha then pushed Jaune into a nearby rocket locker, locking him inside as she punched the coordinates for him. Jaune all the while begged her not to this as it was suicide to fight that women alone. Pyrrha merely gave him a somber look as the locker flew off into the sky. It landed back in Vale away from the Academy, making it impossible for June to get back to her to assist her in the battle. All Jaune could do was call Weiss and Ruby to beg them to save Pyrrha. After that, he slammed his scroll on the ground and passed out from a combination of both stress and exhaustion.

When he woke up, he was in a medical bay in Patch, a small island off the kingdom of Vale. Nora and Ren were relieved that e made it along with the others, but that relief soon turned into sadness when Jaune asked if Pyrrha was alright. Nora started to cry as Ren told Jaune what happened.

When he first heard the news of Pyrrha’s demise, Jaune couldn’t accept it. He refused to believe that Pyrrha Nikos, the invincible girl, one of the strongest fighters he has ever seen, was dead. He soon lost all of his motivation when he realized that she really was gone. Pyrrha, the girl that had trained Jaune, the one that helped him become the man he was today, was gone from this world forever. How could Jaune ever recover from losing someone so important to him, someone he saw as his best friend and partner till the end?

Someone that had captured his heart.

It didn’t take too long for Jaune to figure out he had fallen in love with Pyrrha Nikos. The night of the dance where she admitted that everyone saw her as a warrior far above any of them and that Jaune saw her as a person made him realize that he was chasing the wrong girl all along. He was waiting for the right moment to confess his feelings to her, hoping to tell her after the tournament of his true thoughts. Now that moment will never come, they will never have a happy life together, it was all lost.

And that made Jaune furious.

After the fall of Beacon, Ruby had called Jaune and the remains of his team in order to offer a preposition to them: travel with her to Haven and get info about Cinder and her allies. Ruby couldn’t go with her team; Yang fell into a serious depression after losing her arm, Weiss was taken back to Atlas by her father, and Blake had ran off for unknown reasons, though many suspect that it was due to what happened to Yang. Jaune immediately accepted this offer, hoping to find Cinder and make her pay for what she has done to them. Nora and Ren were just as eager to go.

It has been six months since they left and the journey has not been an easy one. There had been many encounters with the Grimm and they had not always been on the right path. Eventually, the team had finally made it into Mistral and were now trying to get to the academy. The journey may have been successful, but moral was not very high.

For Ruby, she felt she was the only one that could fight. The rest of her team had been split up, and the deaths of Pyrrha and Penny have been motivating her to continue the fight. She had evolved into a more mature girl, recently turning sixteen about two months ago and growing a little taller. Her hair became longer and her outfit was updated along with it, now including a white high-neck decolletage blouse along with her red and black skirt and corset. She was the leader of this team, and she was willing to make sure that no one would ever get hurt again on her watch.

Ren and Nora hadn’t changed too much physically, their outfits remained the same. The only noticeable difference was that their hair grew longer. The key change to the two was in their personalities. Nora was still the energetic, fun loving girl who would always try to motivate people, but she was also getting more serious with her efforts in fighting. Ren had been still the stoic and calm control over his body, but was now starting to get more worried about losing the people that were dear to him.

Last was Jaune, who barely changed at all physically, but was mentally a trainwreck. He was a broken man, barely having any motivation to fight other than hoping to get revenge on Cinder. The death of Pyrrha had still taken a hard hit on him as he barely talked or smiled any more. He often had nightmares about his deceased partner whenever he fell asleep, hence the reason why he was always willing to take watch at night while everyone else rested. He had became a much better fighter than a he was a few months ago, but has still yet to unlock his semblance. This was yet another thing that depressed him. He was supposed to protect the people he cared about, but in the end he still needed the most protection. It frustrated him to no end that he was still a liability to his friends, that the best he could do was be the lookout while they rested.

So that was where Jaune was in his life. Leaning his back against a tree keeping an eye out for any sign of Grimm or life with hostile intentions. The rest of his team were sleeping in their sleeping bags, scattered around the dim campfire that was barely alive. Jaune was content with being lost with his thoughts as the sounds of the fire crackling and animals communicating took over the night. The half moon of Remnant was out shining in the sky with the clouds.

Jaune was starting to get tired, he knew he had to rest but did not want to sleep. His eyes were starting to shudder as he tried to keep them open. He just couldn’t handle another nightmare about his partner. He wanted to move past her but no matter how hard he tried to, his dreams wouldn’t let him. He was still trying to fight of his bodily needs until he heard something that made him froze.

He could have sworn that he heard a scream coming from the East.

No, scratch that. He swore he could hear multiple screams. It also sounded like Grimm were attacking. Jaune quickly put two and two together and realized that that a settlement must be under attack! He had to wake his team to alert them. 

Jaune got up from lying against the tree and ran over to Ruby. He got down and started shaking the girl awake. “Ruby, wake up. People are under attack!”

Ruby’s eyes soon shot open. She got up and yawned. “What are you talking about Jaune?” She said as she looked around. “There is no one else hear.”

“Ruby, be quiet. You can easily hear people screaming. Just listen.” Jaune said as he put out the fire to make the area completely quiet. By this point Nra and Ren had also awoken due to the fire being put out and Jaune waking Ruby. The three teens tried to hear any incoming sounds that they may pick up, but were unable to hear anything.

“Um Jaune-Jaune?” said Nora. “I can’t hear anything at all. I think you just need to get some sleep.”

By this point Jaune was starting to get annoyed with his teammates. “Guys, how can you not hear it? I still hear the sound of civilians screaming and grimm attacking coming from the east.”

“Jaune, don’t be ridiculous. The nearest village is at least a couple miles away. Even if they were under attack there is no guarantee that we can get to them in time.” Ren said as he took out the map to show Jaune.

By this point, Jaune had heard enough. He grabbed his sword and his backpack and started to get ready. “Well then I’m going to travel a couple miles. I’m not going to let anyone die if I can help it.” Jaune then took off towards the East, running into the forest.

“Jaune wait!!” Ruby screamed at him, but it was no use as he was already a few good yards away. Ruby groaned as she got Crescent Rose and started to run after the boy. Ren and Nora soon followed.

Back with Jaune, the boy was running in the forest as fast as he could, jumping over the roots of trees and not slowing down for even a second. He knew people were getting hurt and he was not going to allow that any longer. He pushed himself to his very limits, running as fast as humanly possible, at least to him he was. In reality, however, he was running so fast he looked like a grey blur dashing through the forest. He was easily going as fast as Ruby when she used her semblance, maybe even faster, all the while not even realizing how quick he was.

After about two minutes of running, Jaune came to a cliff that looked over a valley. It was here that he saw the village in the distance, the bright amber lights indicating that their were fires burning down the settlement. Jaune also saw two Nevermores circling the village giving their powerful shrieks, no doubt calling more Grimm to attack. He looked back only to see that the rest of his team had not arrived yet. It was only then that he realized that he had somehow gotten so far away from them that he couldn’t afford to waste any time to wait for them to catch up.

Jaune took out his sword and jumped off the cliff, stabbing the sword into the rocks to slow down his descent. He than ran as fast as he could towards the village, once again turning into the gray blur he was earlier. Eventually he arrived in the middle of the village and quickly drew his sword and shield to prepare for battle.

It was quite a horrifying sight inside the once lively village. Buildings were on fire, grimm and civilians were running amok all over the place. There was a pack of Beowolves causing havock and a Beringul on top of one of the buildings. Immediately they all turned their attention to Jaune, who was standing defiantly in the middle of the village. Immediately the Beowolves charged at him.

Jaune immediately rolled out of the way and slashed at they with his sword, decapitating some of them with ease. The rest of the pack soon regrouped and launched a counter attack, some slashing their claws at him. Jaune blocked with his shield and stabbed one of them in the chest, killing it instantly. He then followed up by bashing the last two with his shield and cutting them in half with his sword.

The Beringul became enraged and jumped of the building to battle Jaune. He barely had time to block as the grimm delivered a powerful punch to him, knocking him back reeling on the ground. He immediately got back up to battle, only to realise that more grimm have shown up, surrounding him once again. Ursas have joined in on the assault as more grimm poured into the settlement to attack. Things were starting to look bad until Jaune heard a familiar sound.

“YEEE-HAWWWW”

Surely enough, Jaune could see Nora riding on her hammer airborne approaching the village. She struck the Beringul with her hammer and land right next to Jaune.

“High Hoe, fearless leader! Looks like you were right about the village being attacked.” Nora said with her usual peppy voice. Soon the two of them were joined by a red blur that came from the sky and landed right next to them. Ruby had joined the battle by riding an incoming Nevermore and killing it.

“Wow Jaune, it’s a good thing you heard this somehow. We can save these people now.” Ruby said with an impressed tone in her voice. Lastly, Ren managed to join them by roof jumping from the South. 

“Anyone got a plan of attack?” The stoic ninja asked.

Ruby already had a plan in mind for this occasion “Let's split up, Kill any Grimm you see. Try to look for survivors.”

“Sounds good to me.” said Nora with a maniacal grin as the four teens fanned out into the village.

Jaune followed some Ursas and came across an alley with multiple burning buildings. After disposing of the Ursas, he heard what sounded like a scream of a young girl. He looked towards the sound to notice that it was coming from a nearby house. Jaune could see through the wall of the building to see a little brown girl trapped under a large block of wood. Jaune knew he must ask quickly in order to-

Wait a minute… Did I just-Did I just see through that wall? Jaune mentally asked himself. This was turning out to be a weird night due to all of these abilities coming out of him. He quickly shook his head as jumped through one of the windows using his shield to block the incoming glass. He ran over to the girl to help her. “Don’t worry, I’m here to help.” Jaune then let out a grunt while he lifted the hot wood of the girl. Fortunately, she wasn’t very injured as Jaune held the girl in his arms.

“It’s ok. My friends and I are here to help you.” Jaune said to reassure the girl. “Let’s find your mommy and daddy. Do you know where they are?”

The girl, rather than answering him, pointed back towards the other side of the room. Jaune looked to see a large, flaming pile of wood and concrete. Underneath the pile, a bloody hand can be seen sticking out of the rubble.

It was at that moment that Jaune started to feel sick in his stomach. This little girl's parents were dead, they possibly died right in front of her. Jaune immediately felt pity for the poor girl as she was about the age of his youngest sister.

“Will they be ok?” the girl asked him with tears in her blue eyes. All Jaune could do was look back to the girl with a somber expression. He couldn’t save her parents, but he could still save her. He hugged the girl tightly as he jumped through the window that he used to get into the building. “Hey wait, what about my parents?!!”

“Don’t look back. Everything will be ok.” Jaune said in a soothing voice as he ran towards the entrance of the village. Though in his mind, he couldn’t help but feel the opposite of that statement.  
An hour had past since team RNJR had arrived at the village, the grimm have been cleaned out and the survivors have been accounted. The village was gone, practically all of the buildings were burnt down and were deemed uninhabitable. The rest of the villagers were recovering a good distance away from the entrance to the the once lively settlement. The elder was speaking to the four teens, thanking them for their services.

“It was honestly no problem to us sir. We’re just happy to help.” Ruby said with a smile. “YOu sure you don’t need us to escort you to the next town? It could be dangerous.”

“You four have already done more than enough. Besides, the world is in dire need for huntsmen like your team, especially after Beacon.” The elder reassured them. It was true, many huntsmen were needed in order to maintain the peace that was so fragile at this point in the world. The team understood that and nodded to the elder.

Jaune, meanwhile, couldn’t help but think of the young girl he saved earlier. She would have to be raised by someone else in the village and never get to live with her parents again. He just had to know that she would be ok. “Excuse me, sir, but will that young girl that I saved earlier be alright.”

The elder gave Jaune a look of pity as he put his hand on his shoulder. “She’ll be ok. Maya is a big girl and I’m sure the rest of us will be glad to look after her. I’m grateful that you managed to save her life.” he then removed his hand as he walked back to the rest of his people.

Ruby then turned to Jaune. “I have to say, if it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t have been able to save these people.” She said to him with a smile. “But how did you manage to get here so quickly?”

“Yeah Jauney. How did you get here so fast? Have you been hiding something from us?” Nora said as she pointed an accusatory finger towards him. “I bet you have been eating some special pancakes that make you faster. I demand that you hand them over immediately!!”

Ren facepalmed. “Nora, I don’t think that those type of pancakes exists. But I am curious on how Jaune managed to get here faster than all of us and hear this while we could not.” Soon the rest of Jaune’s team was staring at him waiting for an answer.

Jaune scratched the back of his head. “I honestly don’t know how guys. Frankly I’m just as shocked about it myself.”

“It could very well be your semblance. Some people are known to hold multiple abilities.” said Ren.

Ruby simply yawned. “Well, I am tired. Let's get back to the campsite and hope for a good day tomorrow.”

The rest of the team nodded in agreement as the four teens walked off back towards their campsite. Jaune turned his head back to see the elder hugging Maya as she was crying into his arm, no doubt due to the loss of her parents. Jaune couldn’t help but show a face of regret as he turned his back on them to walk with his team. Hope? What’s there to hope for? He thought to himself as he caught up with them. They were unaware that they were being watched from the treeline. A certain gray hair assassin had been watching them.  
“Well now, I better let the boss know about this.” Mercury Black said to himself quietly with a smirk as he got out his scroll.  
In a dark castle on an island in the middle of the Mistral sea, a certain amber-eyed women was talking with her master about their plans. They were looking out on the balcony of the castle tower looking out into the nightly sky, observing the Griffons flying in their flocks.

“So, how did the reevaluation of our friend go today, master?” Cinder said to the tall pale skin women with dark black and red eyes. 

“She is starting to give into the process, I am pleased to say that she will be fully capable of fighting for our cause soon.” The women known as Salem said to her apprentice in a sinister voice. “You have done well bringing her to me, miss Fall.”

“I am glad to be of service master. With the White Fang spreading fear and the kingdoms on the brink of war, it’ll only be a matter of time till humanity succumbs to the darkness.” She soon felt her croll vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out to read the message. “Interesting...it seems that Mercury has managed to track down Ruby Rose and her team. Shall I tell him to take care of them?”

“Very well...but tell him bring Miss Rose to me alive. If what you said of your encounter of her earlier this year is true, then she could serve a great purpose to me.” Salem said with a smile crossing her face.

“If you insist, though I wish to have some time with her alone when she arrives. I have a vendetta to settle with her.” Cinder said as a fireball came out of her left hand while she sent Mercury a message with her other hand. She would get her revenge on the reaper soon enough.

“Oh I assure you, she’ll get her comeuppance soon enough, but for now, we sit back and let my children do the work for us.” Salem said as a Nevermore roared as it soared over the Castle and to the shore of Mistral.  



	2. Inner Demons

Chapter 2: Inner Demons

In the kingdom of Atlas, There lies a giant white mansion on the top of a hill just outside the capital city of Atlas. The mansion had many exquisite features such as a large balcony to look out to the city, a giant pool with temperature regulation, a library with books on pretty much everything in the world, and screening room for watching television and movies. This was Schnee Manor, home of one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the history of Remnant. To most people, it would be a dream that came true to live in a mansion like this, to be safe in the most powerful kingdom and live like a king.

Weiss Schnee was not one of those people.

Weiss was currently standing out on the balcony connected to her room, looking out to the horizon that was above the city. She felt miserable being trapped here, knowing that her friends needed her, that the world needed her. The biggest reason she wanted to go to Beacon was to make a difference in the world, to show that not all Schnee's are unethical people who merely profit from conflict.

Now that chance was gone. Her father, Frederick William Schnee, took Weiss and brought her back to Atlas after the fall of Beacon. The man refused to allow his daughter to put her life on the line to stay and help her teammates and friends she made at the school. This was exactly what Weiss wanted to avoid and now she was trapped, forced to relive the past once again. She missed the friends she made at Beacon. She missed Blake, Yang, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Ru-

Ruby, her first real friend. The one who taught her how to have fun and to bond with other people. Out of all her friends, she was easily the one Weiss missed the most. The red reaper who was once nothing more than a nat to the heiress had become the very thing that warmed her up from being a ice queen to people. Weiss always butchered herself mentally for being so mean to the girl at first ever since she came back home, she was only trying to be friendly when she first met. She wished she could have talked to her more without sarcasm, without being such a bitch.

Funny, had she never gone to Beacon she would have chastised herself for thinking about herself and her actions in such a way. Just another reason that the year at the academy had been the best year of her life. She had changed so much since then though to her teammates. Now her team was scattered, Blake had ran and Yang had lost the will to fight along with her arm. If their was a time when her team needed her, it was right now.

And what was she doing? Staring of into the horizon moping about her life and how she shouldn’t be here. It’s not like she didn’t try to convince her father to let her back out into the world. The man simply denied her every time, often leading into shouting matches between the two that echoed throughout the manor. Weiss had no success in negotiating with Frederick at all. She was merely forced to go with the man to banquets to promote the company and often sing sometimes. She couldn’t hate her life any more than right now. 

She suddenly hear a knock on her door. The voice of a middle age women could be heard. “Miss Schnee, it is time for the Atlas ball. Your father is waiting for you in the foyer.”

Weiss turned around to answer. “Ok Portia. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be right out.” she said just loudly enough for the maid to hear her. Weiss then walked back into her room and closed the door to the balcony. She walked over to her closet and got out a long blue dress with platformless stiletto heels. She put them both on as well as two sapphire earrings. She soon opened her door and walked out and down the hall to the foyer. Her father was waiting by the door tapping his foot impatiently. 

“Ah, there you are, Weiss. I have been waiting for 10 minutes for you. Have I not told you a million times that a Schnee must be punctual at all times?” Frederick said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Weiss merely glared at the man but responded formally. “Forgive me father, but last time I checked, the ball doesn’t start until 8:00 P.M. It is currently 7:25 as of this moment.”

“And that is why we must leave now. I will not have our family’s reputation become demolished simply because my daughter is moping about the peasants she has become friends with! Now let’s go. Chives is waiting in the driveway to pick us up.” Mr. Schnee said as he opened the main door to the house.

On the outside, Weiss appeared emotionless to the human eye. Inside, however, she was fuming due to her father insulting her friends. How could he be so judgemental to people he has never even seen before. She would have given him a piece of her mind, but she knew that tonight was going to be tiring enough. She figured it was best to just go with her father and try to not to anger him again.

“Of course father.” Weiss said as she walked out the door. The two entered the limousine that Chives was using to pick them up. Weiss could only stare out the window thinking about her life as Chives closed the back door and started to drive off into the night.

(Insert Line)

It had been a couple of days since Team RNJR had helped the villagers under attack. The four teens were walking down the road in the middle of the day, hoping to get to Haven by the end of the week. Ruby and Nora were in the front leading the group, Ren was in the middle observing the sky for any activity, and Jaune was in the back keeping watch. Jaune didn’t like to talk much and often stayed in the back just to be alone in his thoughts.

So far the walk had been pretty uneventful, which was a relief for the team. Since they rescued those villagers, encounters with the Grimm have become far more common for the four teenagers. They were constantly being ambushed by packs of beowolves, ursas, and creeps which they had to fight off every time. They had won every fight, but their fatigue was starting to catch up with them. They could not understand what was causing the Grimm to be so drawn to them.

Jaune, meanwhile, couldn’t move past seeing that poor girl crying into the elder’s arms. IT figures, he finally stops having nightmares about Pyrrha only to have nightmares about a different girl entirely. Things were really getting far worse for the poor boy. No matter what he did, it seems like death was always present. He could only hope that he could save his friends as well. Then again, it would be far more likely for Jaune to be saved by-

!

Jaune suddenly froze as he heard something moving in the trees. Whatever it was, it sounded bigger than a bird or some rodent. In fact, it almost sounded like metal clinking in the trees.

Jaune’s teammates soon took notice of him not moving and turned to him with concerned looks. Nora immediately went up to him. “Jauney, is everything al-”

“Shhhh!!” Jaune shushed Nora as he continued to hone his hearing to figure out where the was coming from. Suddenly, Jaune heard the sound of a gun being cocked! He had to act fast.

“LOOK OUT!!!” Jaune screamed as he dived into Nora. A gunshot went right over the two to where her head was a second ago before Jaune reacted. Even with her aura, that would have been a serious hit to take. Ruby and Ren jumped back to get ready  
The four teens immediately took out their weapons and got into a battle stance as they stared at their assailant. The grey haired assassin had his left foot up with the barrel of his gun-boot aiming at the four teens.

“Well how about that. Arc can actually do something right. Who would have guessed?” Mercury said with one of his infamous smug grins. He jumped down from the tree and landed across from the four teens.

Ruby immediately became enraged at seeing him again. She still remembered that he was the one that stopped her from saving Penny and preventing the attack on Beacon. Her grip tightened on Crescent Rose as she got ready for a fight.

“Mercury! You shouldn’t have came after us.” Ruby said with as much acid in that sentence as possible. She aimed her scythe at him as she got in marksmen position. “This time, I have my weapon to fight you!”

Mercury simply chuckled at that statement. “Good, it’s no fun if my opponent is hardly even a threat. I’ll make sure it won’t hurt too badly for you, though I can’t say the same thing to your friends.”

Nora was getting excitedly annoyed with the assassin. “Ohhhh, I want to break his legs so badly. Please say the word, Ruby.”

The boy simply put his hand on his chin and pretended to think. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, you see last time someone tried that, let’s just say that it didn’t end too well for them.”

By this point Ruby had heard enough. She pointed had the man and gave the words to her teammates. “Let him have it!!”

Nora changed her hammer into grenade launcher mode and launched three grenades at Mercury. He easily dodged the three of them and fired back at the team, forcing them to scatter as they dodged. He then dashed into Ren and the two engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Ren was skilled, but Mercury was on a whole other level. Ren tried to use his semblance by striking with an aura infused palm strike, Mercury merely parried the blow and delivered a powerful kick into Ren, knocking him back through a tree.

Nora immediately got angry and tried to strike Mercury with her hammer, but he was to fast and easily sidestepped the attack. He delivered a powerful roundhouse kick right to Nora’s head that slammed her onto the ground with her face in the dirt. He then took Nora and tossed her over to where Ren was. 

Ruby and Jaune teamed up on him and swiped at him with their blades. Mercury merely evaded and started to fire a volley of dust shots at the two. Jaune used his shield to block while Ruby used her speed to evade the attacks. Ruby fired back with her scythe in gun form, forcing Mercury to dodge. Unfortunately for him, he failed to notice the hammer wielding ginger waiting for him in the bushes.

“SURPRISE!!!” Nora screamed as she slammed her hammer into Mercury’s stomach, sending him tumbling back. Mercury recovered in midair but was gasping for air as he held his chest. Team RNJR recovered as they stood lined up ready for more.

“I would advise you to surrender now. You are outnumbered four to one and have already lost a lot of your aura due to that hit.” Ren said pointing his guns at Mercury. The assassin merely got stood up chuckling.

“I’m just getting warmed up.” He said with a sly grin as he fired a shot at them, causing them to once again scatter. Ruby moved to the side only to see that Mercury was spinning on his head firing volleys of shots, creating a cyclone of dust bullets ready to strike. She remembered this move from watching his fight with Yang, how much damage it could do and how she couldn’t afford to be hit by it. She was forced to move again to avoid the shots funneling around. Mercury took advantage of this by firing a two spiral shots, each of them splitting apart into four torpedoes that locked on to each teen. Everyone was hit in the chest and was knocked back onto the ground. The cyclone of bullets dissipated as each shot homed in on the four teens, causing a massive cloud of dust to form from the targeted area.

When the dust cleared, team RNJR was scattered on the ground defeated. Ruby started to squirm as the rest of her team remained motionless. She saw that her scythe was a few inches out of reach and tried to crawl over to it, only for a foot to come down on her hand causing her to cry out in pain.

Mercury shook his head. “You lose, Rose. The score is now 0-2.” Mercury then grabbed Ruby by the throat and threw her away from her team into another tree. The sudden impact of her body slamming into the tree caused her to cough up some blood. “I honestly can’t believe you managed to give Cinder this much trouble. You guys are weaker than I remembered.” Mercury said as he walked over to her. He crouched down right next to her as her eyes struggled to stay open. “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. Cinder will most likely have that honor herself.” Mercury then prepared to kick her in the head to knock her out, only for a voice to call out to stop him.  
“Get Away From Her, You BASTARD!!!!”

The two looked across to see Jaune standing straight up enraged, looking as if he was about to kill Mercury. But what really caught their attention was his eyes glowing purely red with some sparks noticeably coming out of them. The looked like two suns that were about to go into supernova.

Ruby was shocked, she has never seen Jaune like this before. If she didn’t know any better it was almost like he was an entirely different person. Mercury simply shook his head with another smirk as Jaune began walking over towards them. “You got a death wish, Arc? Well I’ll be happy to oblige you.”

Mercury kick his foot out to fire a shot straight at Jaune, hitting him straight in the chest. What happened next shocked the assassin and the reaper: Jaune took it like it was nothing. He didn’t even flinch from the bullet as he continued walking. Mercury fired again with the same result.

“Wha-What the hell?” he said quietly refusing to believe what he was witnessing. He kept firing and firing to no avail as Jaune was now a few steps away from him. Ren and Nora started to regain consciousness as they looked over to the scene When the knight reached his destination, Mercury tried a powerful roundhouse kick into Jaune’s jaw.

What happened next, shocked every single person present in the forest. As soon as Mercurys foot slammed into Jaune’s head, the foot exploded into hundreds of pieces. The grey haired assassin cried out in pain as he fell down to the ground, now only with one leg. Jaune then picked him up by the throat and stared into his eyes with his glowing red eyes. Mercury, meanwhile, was making a face of pure terror as words came out of Jaune’s mouth.

“Tell your boss that if she comes after us again, she won’t live to see the sun shine another day. Consider this mercy.” The knight said with as much intimidation in that last statement as soon as possible. He then turned spun around and threw Mercury overhead through the treeline and into the sky. Mercury flew a few good miles from that throw, screaming all the while until a distinguishable thud could be heard a minute later. Jaune closed his eyes and reopened them, causing them to revert back to their blue, normal state.

Jaune immediately turned to Ruby and held his hand out to get her back up on her feet. Ruby stared at it for a few seconds and then took it as she was bolstered up by Jaune.

“Jaune, what...was that?” She asked with some fear in her voice.

Jaune merely looked at Ruby a look that said he was hurt from how she asked him that question. “I honestly don’t know, Rubes. Let’s just continue our journey.” Jaune went over to his backpack, took it over his shoulder, and continued to walk on the road to Haven. Ruby looked at Ren and Nora, both were sharing a look of fear and uncertainty as they got their bags and followed the knight.

(Insert Line)

The docks of Vale were peaceful as the sun was setting in the East. They were one of the few areas in the city that wasn’t destroyed due to the Grimm occupation. On the one of the docks, standing out on the edge looking into the ocean, was a raven-haired girl with a black bow on her head. She was wearing a white coat with a black crop top with a sheathed katana on her back.

This was Blake Belladonna being her old self: hiding from her enemies and the people she once called friends. She remembered how a few months back she was never happier with her life. She had her own family of sisters who loved her and stuck with her on her beliefs.

Then Adam came into the picture and ruined her happiness.

The night that Blake fought Adam in the burning cafeteria of Beacon was the worst night of her life. She tried her best to fight him yet he tossed her around like she was a rookie in his first fight. She then remembered how he said he would destroyed everything she loved. That was when Yang screamed out her name. Adam decided that she would be the perfect person to start with.

She still had the scar from when he stabbed her in the gut. It was one of the most painful things she has ever felt, but it hailed in comparison to what Yang got. She charged at Adam, enraged at what she had done to Blake. Adam merely unsheathed his sword and sliced at her horizontally, slicing her right arm of in the process. In one of the most horrifying moments of her life, she was helpless as Yang flew over her and passed out from the shock of what happened. She managed to save Yang and escape, but she could never shake of the feeling of guilt over what happened to her best friend.

So Blake did the only thing she thought she could do: run away and draw Adam’s attention from Yang and the rest of her friends. She absolutely hated it and hoped that it would never to have come to this, but she believed it was the best course of action.

Ever since then, Blake had made her home in the desolated town of Vale, believing that it would be the last place the White Fang would look for her. Everyday she thought of her teammates and wished she could see them again. She knew better, however. If Adam was still after her, being around them would put them in serious danger. She couldn’t risk that.

Will I ever see them again? Will they ever forgive me for what I’ve done? Blake thought to herself as she watched the sun set over the horizon. She then turned around and began to walk away from the docks and find a place to settle for the night. It was only when she was leaving the port she heard the sound of someone shouting.

“Ok assholes, who wants to get their asses kicked?!”

Blake knew that could only mean one thing: someone was trying to fight the Grimm. She didn’t know who it was, but she could have speculated that it was one of the huntsmen trying to clear out the Grimm. She decided to jump to the rooftops and see who it was and if he was in danger.

After climbing up and jumping a few roofs over, she looked of the roof to see an unusual sight. Down below her was a pack of beowolves ganging up on a lone kid who looked to be around eighteen. The kid had short, brown hair with hazel eyes and was wearing a black leather jacket with jeans. He had white skin and was armed with a metal baseball bat trying to fight of the Grimm. Blake had to admit that the kid was brave, but foolish.

“You want some? Come on motherfuckers!! I ain’t afraid to get dirty!” He then swung at one of the charging beowolves, slamming the bat right into it’s head, stunning it but not killing it. The rest of the pack charged in unison to kill the kid. Blake knew it was time to act she took out Gambol Shroud and jumped down to fight.

Blake landed right in front of the man as the beowolves slashed at him. She used her semblance to create a copy of herself as she sliced the first beowulf in halve with ease. She than used her blade and sheath in order to fight the rest of the pack. The man was completely stunned at what was happening.

As she killed the last one, she unsheathed her blade and put it on her back. She then turned to stare at the man about her age. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before the boy spoke.

“Um...thanks.”

Blake merely sighed. “That was a foolish thing to do. You should have known better than to fight them alone. You would have easily been killed.

The boy got annoyed with her. “Well what am I supposed to do? Just let these monsters rummage around on the streets of the town that I love? I gotta do something!”

“Well throwing your life away like that isn’t the best course of action now is it?” Blake retorted as she walked up to him. “Where is your family?”

The man soon frowned as he looked down. “I don’t have any. I’ve been an orphan for all of my life. I’ve lived on the streets for as long as I could remember. The only person who ever raised me died when I was six. I’ve been alone since then.” Blake immediately felt sorry for the kid as she put an arm on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Do you have a place to stay?”

“One, I live in an abandoned nightclub. It isn’t all bad though. Plenty of free booze to drink.” He said has his face bared a grin. He then looked at Blake for a few seconds. “Hey, I know you. You're that girl from team RWBY of Beacon. You guys were my favorite team in the tournament!”

Blake merely turned away baring a sad look on her face. “I...I don’t know what your talking about.”

“Oh don’t bullshit me. I loved you guys. You were awesome...well, until blondie punched that poor kid in the knee.” 

Blake turned to face him again as she now gave him a glare. The boy merely held up his hands as if saying he didn’t mean it. “Sorry, sore subject, got it.” He then turned around to pick up his bat that was resting against a wall. “Well thanks for your help. I guess I’ll go home to get some R&R.” He then started to walk down the street with the bat over his shoulder.

 

Blake merely walked in front of him. “You're not going alone. I’ll escort you home.”

The kid sighed. “Fine, but only because I let you fight those beasts for me. Name’s Thomas by the way.”

Blake nodded. “Blake.” as the two walked together towards their destination. All the while, Blake couldn’t help but be reminded of Sun from this kid. Guess she could still do something good while hiding out.

(Insert Line)

The two arrived at the run down nightclub, Blake would have left but Thomas insisted on inviting her in to get a drink. She had never drank any alcoholic beverages before, but she figured that she could use one from all of the madness going on in the world. Blake sat at the counter of the bar as Thomas looked over the drinks.

“So, you’ve been alone this entire time? Nobody to talk to at all?” Blake asked with a sympathetic look.

“Well some people come and go and I have a friend living just outside the city that I see often for supplies.” Thomas said as he got out two shot glasses to pour them each a drink. “But enough about me, what about you? How did you come into living on your own? Where’s the rest of you team.”

Blake averted her eyes from his hazel ones. “I rather not talk about. It’s...personal.”

Thomas once again got annoyed with her as he rested his arms on the counter. “I told you my life story, the least you can do is tell me yours.”

Blake sighed. She really didn’t want to do it, but he told her about his past. It was only right for her to return the favor. Besides, she has not had a real conversation with anyone for a couple of months now. What harm could be done?

Blake told Thomas everything. The year at Beacon, the tournament, what happened to her partner, and why she ran. Thomas nodded with everything she said, almost as if he was a therapist to her. When she finished, he asked for confirmation.

“So you're telling me that you ran because this Adam guy cut your best friend’s arm of and that by staying away from them, they will be safe?”

Blake nodded. Thomas thought for a second and could only say one thing to Blake as he opened his mouth angrily:

“Blake, that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard!”

The faunas was shocked by the teen’s outburst and soon got angry herself. “You don’t understand! He will destroy everything I love. He’ll kill them if he finds them again!”

Thomas slammed his fist on the counter. “You partner wanted to be a huntsman, a defender of the people. She knew damn well that the job had huge risks! She tried to help you and lost an arm because of it!! She obviously cares for you deeply and what do you do? You run off like a coward!! How do you think she feels about your decision?”

Blake turned away on the verge of tears. “That’s not important!! What’s important is that she is safe! I refuse to allow anyone to get hurt because of my past again.”

“And who’s to say Adam won’t go after them anyway?”

Blake eyes went wide open once again as she was completely dumbfounded by what the boy said. “Wha-What?”

Thomas jumped over the counter to face Blake head on. “If this guy promised to destroy everything you loved, why the hell would you think that avoiding your friends and teammates would somehow be protecting them?!” Thomas then held up a finger. “Let me tell you something right now: If what you say about this Adam guy is true, then all you are doing is letting them fend for themselves against a madman that they know nothing about! How is that protection?!”

Blake couldn’t believe this. Here she was, thinking merely hours earlier she was doing the best thing for her teammates, drawing the White Fang’s attention from them. Now this kid he saved earlier that she barely knew was telling her she was being a fool? What did he know about her past and the consequences that followed?

“And what do you know about protection? You clearly needed my help.” She said bitterly.

Thomas sighed and then sat on one of the stoles. He motioned his hand towards the one next to him. “Let me tell you a story.” Blake hesitated for a moment but eventually went over to the seat uncertain with what he was about to say. “Remember how I said that someone raised me till I was six, well that person didn’t die of natural causes.”

Blake looked sympathetic as Thomas adverted his eyes from hers. “Her name was Artemis. She was a beautiful and kind woman who took pity on a dirty baby that was left to rot behind a dumpster in an alley outside of a bar. She had gorgeous white hair that flew like a kite in the wind. She gave love and compassion to some random kid who his parents didn’t even want. She was easily the biggest influence in my life.” Thomas then started to tear up. “But like everyone else in the world, she had a past. A past that no matter how much she tried to run from would always catch up to her. She had an abusive ex, you see, and one night that ex founded out where she ran off too to get away from him. He came knocking at the middle of the night screaming, threatening to break down the door should she refuse to comply. I was never more terrified in my life. Artemis told me not to worry and to run out the back door of our house and get away as soon as possible. I wanted to stay, but she told just repeated herself and told me to run. I had no choice but to comply. I ran out as the door broke down and hid behind the garbage cans of the house. I heard the screaming of the two as the man beat the shit out of her and I was forced to hear every single sound. He kept asking her if there was anyone else around and if she could show them to her. Knowing that I was at risk, she spat in his face and told him to fuck off. And then...then…” 

Thomas could hold it in no longer as he began to sob. Blake could only hug him as he continued to cry. “She didn’t deserve that shit. She was too kind.” Thomas then wiped the tears from his face as he looked into Blake’s amber eyes. “Your teammates are your family, Blake. Don’t leave them due to some asshole who is determined to ruin your life. You are already far stronger than I ever was. Use that strength!”

Blake was touched more than ever before. She never knew her parents, being an orphan herself, and Adam was not the same man she knew before. Her teammates were the closest thing to a family she ever had. She would protect them as they would protect her. And she ran from them, thinking it was right.

God, she was such a fool.

She now knew what she had to do. Yang took lost an arm because of her, and she ran when she needed her support the most. How could she do that to her partner and best friend? What the hell was wrong with her? She knew she couldn’t forgive herself for making this choice, but she knew she could do one thing: She had to reunite her team. Her true family.

“Thank you Thomas. I now know what I must do.” She said to him with a serene smile. 

Thomas was still teary, but smiled back. “I guess Artemis taught me more than I thought she did.” The soon released each other. “So, are you going to find your partner?” 

Blake looked a little concerned when he said that. “I...I don’t know if I could face her yet.” 

Thomas put an arm on her shoulder. “You're going to have to face her eventually. What are you going to do until then?”

Blake looked back to him with hope now in her eyes. “A few days after the fall of Beacon, Yang sent me a message saying that one of my teammates was taken back to her home in Atlas. I think I need to go find her first.”

Thomas was dumbfounded by that. “Wait, you mean the Schnee girl? You realise that her family does not have the best history with the faunas, right? How the hell do you suppose that you can get her away from one of the most powerful families in Remnant?”

Blake put a smirk on her face. “If there is one good thing I learned from being in the White Fang, it’s that I learned stealth. I could probably sneak in there.”

Thomas simply shook his head and sighed. “Well, that’s still going to be a long walk, and the world doesn’t have time for people to screw around. You need to get there as quickly as possible.”

“And what do you propose I do?” Blake asked.

Thomas simply smirked. “I know a guy who could help you out.”

Blake couldn’t help but smile back. This kid truly was like Sun. He missed that blonde. After reuniting her team, she would have to find him next. She truly had her plan set. Now she had to rest in order to get ready for tomorrow. The two teens got ready for bed after Thomas managed to make a makeshift bed for Blake. The faunas couldn’t be more grateful for running into this kid. He truly taught her a lot and made her think about more hopeful thoughts. Tomorrow, she would no longer let Adam interfere with her life. Tomorrow, she will never let her past haunt her again.

Tomorrow, she would begin her journey to reunite her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: We look to see how a certain Blond Brawler is doing.
> 
> This was a pretty enjoyably chapter for me to write, especially since I put my first OC into it. There will be plenty more later in the story.
> 
> I apologize of the fight scenes are not the best, I still need to work on writing them out. I hope to hear some advice on how to write better confrontations in the reviews for this chapter.


	3. The Fire Within

Chapter 3: The Fire Within

{Two Months before team RNJR saved the village}

Patch was always a peaceful settlement. The island had was home to some of the friendliest people in all of Remnant and had plenty of activities for one to enjoy. The beaches were some of the best in the world, the forest were teaming with wildlife, and the food made there was always delicious. One of Patch’s most popular hangouts was the Gym located nearby Signal Academy in the middle of the town of Signal. The gym attracted hundreds of people each day for its classes and equipment used to train people both huntsman and non-huntsmen. In the bottom of the gym, a blond girl with one arm was training her best to get back into a fight.

Yang Xiao Long had had it rough for the past couple of months. The fall of Beacon and the lost of her arm had driven her into a depression so bad that the once happy blonde was thought to be gone forever. She was practically home everyday, sitting in bed, moping about how she was useless and alone. It wasn’t easy for her to realize that she couldn’t just feel sorry for herself all day, it took her father and a lot of thought for her to figure that out. Yang always felt guilt whenever she remembered how she yelled at the man when he was only trying to help.

God, she was such a bitch.

Now, here she was, using her remaining gauntlet on her remaining arm, training on some combat drones set on a relatively weak setting. It’s not like she didn’t want to fight them on max difficulty, but when you have one arm, it’s kinda hard to fight as your old self.

Still, kicking the robotic asses of these drones did feel pretty good to her. It also helped to get her mind of of many things. Her father who was in Vale helping the huntsmen, Ruby and the remains of team JNPR, Weiss in Atlas, Blak-

She hit one of the drones hard enough to cause her fist to go through it’s head at the mere thought of her partner. Blake was still a sore subject for Yang. She honestly didn’t understand her at this point. She thought she was done with running, that she would look forward instead of looking back. Then the White Fang joined in on the attack on Beacon and she left once again. Yang though that they would be there for each other at the end of the line. Hell, she tried to save her from that commander and lost an arm because of it. 

Yang decided that she had trained enough for one day. She was pretty tired and it was past 8:00 P.M. Besides, she didn’t need to cause any more damage due to her rage. She got on her grey jacket, gathered her things, and left the gym in order to go home for the night. As she walked through the town of Signal and back to her house in the woods, she tried to ignore the looks given to her from people around her. Many people still couldn’t believe the kind and beautiful Yang Xiao Long would break the leg of a helpless kid, yet the footage from the Vytal Festival questioned many people’s thoughts about the girl. Yang absolutely hated the fact that people thought she was insane, that she would hurt someone who had lost the match and had done nothing to provoke her. 

Just another thing that made her angry.

After walking for about 20 minutes, she came to the cottage in the middle of the woods that was her home. She opened the door and was greeted to her dog, Zwei, happily greeting her like a any dog would to his owner. Yang couldn’t help but smile at the Corgi, if there was one thing that could always cheer her up, it was her dog. She made herself dinner and ate it at the kitchen table by herself. It sucked that her father wasn’t around, but she understood the fact that he was needed in Vale. Not many huntsmen were available after the fall of Beacon, so some retired ones had to be pulled back into action by the kingdom. It probably felt great for Taiyang too, he loved to fight almost as much as he loved his daughters.

After eating, Yang decided to get ready for bed and went to the restroom to wash up. After preparing, she went to her room, but not before passing Ruby’s room and briefly stopping to look inside. She missed her sister, she wanted to get out there and fight with her and her new team, but she knew that she was not yet ready. If only she could have talked to her a little more before she left, without her being depressed.

Just another reason to want to beat that bull-horned asshole. Yang thought to herself. She went into her room, got in her bed, turned out the lights, and started to drift into the world of dreams, listening to the wind howl from the window she left open. Tomorrow, she would get up and train again at the same gym. 

At least, that’s what she assumed that she would be doing tomorrow. Unbeknownst to Yang, a raven had flown through the window after she had fallen asleep and landed on the floor beside the bed. The raven then shapeshifted into a woman wearing a shallow cut black and red dress with long black hair. She had five necklaces around her neck and was wearing a full-faced mask to cover her face. She grabbed Yang and holstered her on her shoulder as she took out her sword from its sheath. It was fortunate for her that Yang was such a heavy sleeper, otherwise this would have been quite the mess she would have to sort out.

“Hmph. Qrow wasn’t kidding when he said you could sleep through an explosion.” The women mumbled to herself as she made a slice into the air, forming a dark red portal. The women stepped into the portal with Yang and then the gateway closed, once again plunging the room into darkness and silence.

(Insert Line)

Yang started to flutter her eyes open to the sound of water dripping around her. When she fully opened them, she was in for quite the surprise. Instead of being in her room under the covers of her bed, she was in a cave, resting on a sleeping bag and pillow. Yang bolted upright and surveyed her surrounding atmosphere.

“What the…?Where the hell am I?” Yang said as she looked all over the place. She immediately readied her remaining gauntlet of Ember Celica as she looked for any signs of life. There was no one, or better yet, nothing around her.

Yang was still weary however. She did not know how she got here, but whoever bought her here could still be around. She decided to leave first, ask questions later. She quickly scurried up from her position and walked through the cave, trying to find any sources of light to lead her back to the outside world. Eventually, she noticed a beam of light coming from the end of the tunnel she was traveling in. She moved towards the light and came across the entrance of the cave, the light shining right into her face as she slowly walked towards the exit. Just as she was about to reach her destination, she heard a muffled voice behind her.

“Leaving so soon?”

Yang turned around to see the women in the red and black dress with the white mask staring right back at her. She was completely shocked at seeing this person. One good look and she knew damn well who it was: the woman who saved her on the train in Mountain Glen. The very person she encountered in her dream that night.

Raven Branwen. Her mother.

Yang immediately gritted her teeth as she held up her arm in defence. “I didn’t ask to be bought here. Where the hell are we?!”

Raven chuckled as she took off her mask, revealing a face that looked exactly like Yang’s, the only noticeable difference being that her hair was black and her eyes were red like her daughter when she activated her semblance.

“Apparently, the fire that was burned brightly inside you has not died completely after all. You're still not ready for combat yet, but you clearly had made some progress.” The women said as she the two circled each other, the younger one not leading her guard down for an instant. “If you think I did this to fight you, you are sadly mistaken. I’m only here to help.”

“OH!! Now you want to play mother and daughter!!” Yang had finally snapped. “Well I got news for you, it’s a little too late for that!” Her eyes turned crimson red. “18 Years too Late!”

Raven once again chuckled. “You clearly want answers for a lot of things. Well, that’s just too bad, I’m not in the mood to give out answers, especially to someone who can barely fight anymore.” Yang started to clench her fist in anger at the women’s statement.

“After all, your own partner didn’t even want anything to do with you anymore.”

Yang snapped at that point and she launched herself forward at the women and readied a powerful punch towards her, screaming in rage. Raven moved so fast it seemed like she was gone in a flash as she dodged the punch and reappeared behind her and kicked her right in the back. Yang stumbled and went through some stalagmites, easily destroying them. Yang groaned in pain as she tried to stand back up, only to have a sword pointed at her throat.

“That was sloppy. You anger really is both your greatest strength and weakness.” The women said as she stared her daughter down.

“FUCK YOU!!! You have no idea how much shit I’ve been through!!” Yang screamed in hatred she then punched the ground and kept her head down in shame. A tear or two came out of her eyes and moistened the sediment. “I’m useless. It was hopeless to think I could fight again.”

Yang suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder as she looked up to see Raven crouched down next to her. “You took a serious blow from Taurus, but that doesn’t mean you're out of the fight. I’ve seen people recover from far worse injuries.” She then helped Yang back onto her feet. “But if you keep rushing in recklessly thinking you can always win, you won’t live to fight another day.”

Yang looked at her with a questioning look. “What are you talking about? How can I recover from this?” she said as she motioned to the stub that was once her arm. As she said that Raven walked toward on of the stalagmites in the room and reached behind it. She pulled out a briefcase and bought it over to Yang. She opened it and Yang’s eyes went wide open with shock. In the briefcase was a gold and black prosthetic arm. What shocked her even more was that around the wrist of it was the other half of Ember Celica. Yang touched it and noted how it felt cold. She then stared at her mother and could barely speak.  
“How...Why…?” Before she could say more, Raven answered her questions easily.

“Qrow got into to contact with General Ironwood and had this outfitted just for you. He had it shipped to me along with your weapon which was found in the remains of Beacon by one of the huntsmen fighting there. As for why, it’s because we’re your family and we care for you.” After hearing that last part, Yang gave her mother a look that said ‘seriously’. “I know I left you when you were little, but I assure you it wasn’t because I wanted nothing to do with you.”

Yang had to interject. “Then why? Why would you run from me and dad? What purpose did it serve?” Yang asked with curiosity in her voice rather than anger.

Raven sighed. “Yang, my mother raised me just like I raised you: with little to no contact with her whatsoever. Looking back, I still feel that she is a bitch, but I’ll admit that it made me a much stronger person.” Raven’s face soon showed a sad look. “I then decided to do it with you, watching you from far away as you grew up to be a strong and independent women, but then the attack on Beacon occurred and…” Raven sighed again. “It was a stupid choice. I can’t believe that I thought it was a good idea.”

Yang was shocked hearing that coming from her mother. All her life, she had be wondering if she would ever meet her mother again and get the answers to her questions. After hearing from Qrow that she made a mistake, she was ready to track her down and find the answers she thought she deserved.

And now, she got the answers in the most shocking way possible. Instead of going after Raven, she came after her, took her along with her and was now willing to help her like a true mother would. Not only that, but her uncle also made sure that she would get a prosthetic arm as well. She would have to thank her uncle the next she sees him. 

For the first time in forever, Yang felt that she was loved by her mother. This was something that she never thought she would ever feel. Another tear came out of her right eye, but this one was a tear of happiness rather than sadness. Yang couldn’t help but launch herself into Raven, hugging her with her remaining arm.

“Thank you.” she said with a whisper. “I don’t forgive you yet for what you have done, it’s a start.”

Raven hesitated to hug her daughter back, feeling as though she couldn’t forgive herself for doing this to the poor girl. She had to give a sad smile, however, feeling happy to be able to help her when she needed it the most. They soon released each other as the older women took out the arm. “Alright then, let's get this attached to you”  
Yang was a little surprised and nervous to hear that. “Are you sure? Shouldn’t we get a doctor to do it instead?”

Raven couldn’t help but smirk at Yang. “When you’ve been a huntsmen for over twenty years, you tend to travel a lot and learn how to do many things.” She motioned over to a rock for Yang to sit down on as she uncovered the bandages from her wound. “I should probably warn you. This will hurt like hell.”

Yang, rather than being scared, had a determined smirk on her face as she braced herself. “Bring it on.”

(Insert Line)

(Present Day)

Salem’s throne room was a long hall with barely any light present other than the flames of the torches hung on the wall. The dimly lit room had a throne at the end sitting under a stain glass window showing a nevermore bowing to Salem. The queen of the grimm was sitting in the black and white throne that looked to be made of ones and black fur of a grimm. Her eyes glowed in the dimness of the room as Cinder walked up and knelt down to her.

“Master, it appears that Mercury has returned from his assignment.” Cinder said as she raised her head to gaze at the women.

“And the result?” Salem said in her sinister voice.

Cinder sighed and showed a look of annoyance. “It appears that he was defeated by the young girl and her team. One of his prosthetic legs is completely gone and he was found in a giant crater by Emerald.”

Salem scoffed at hearing this. “Send him in now.”

Cinder nodded to this and took out her scroll to send a message to Emerald. A few minutes later, Emerald walked in with Mercury in a wheelchair due to the lost of his leg. Mercury had a nervous look on his face as Emerald smirked at him.

“Here he is, the assassin himself, showing the world his incredible skills.” Emerald said sarcastically. The boy looked back at her with a glare that told her to shut up. Emerald merely smirked back, seeing the boy that annoyed her in such a bad state felt good.  
“Thank you Emerald. Now leave us.” Salem said as she motioned back to the door. Emerald bowed and then walked out of the throne room. Mercury fidgeted in the chair: he was completely at the mercy of his two masters. 

Salem lurched forward in her seat. “Now Mercury, what did Cinder tell you about Miss Roe and her friend?”

Mercury averted his gaze like a guilty child. “Not to underestimate them.”

Cinder interjected. “And what happens? You come back to us barely alive and with one of your legs missing. I’m disappointed in you. Losing to the Rose girl like that is qui-”

It was Mercury’s turn to interject now. “Actually, master? I had them on the ropes. I was about to bring Rose to you until a certain ‘factor’ played into my task.”

Cinder crossed her arms. “And that would be…?”

Mercury sighed as and braced himself. “The Arc kid stepped in to save her.”

Silence fell over the room for a couple seconds. Cinder could not believe what she had just heard. Jaune Arc is the one who stopped Mercury. She knew the kid was good leader, but his fighting skills were pathetic to say the least. Her eye soon glowed with fire surrounding it in anger.

“You mean to tell me that the weakest person in the group was the one to stop you?”

Mercury flinched at the tone of her voice. He then responded in a low high pitched voice of his own. “Yes.”

Cinder walked up to him and delivered a backhanded slap to his face, forcing in to clutch his left cheek in pain. “I give you one task and you somehow manage to fail. Why did I bother to recruit you to our cause?” She said with a louder and scarier tone.

Mercury shot his head back to face her. “With all do respect, boss, that kid may be more powerful than we thought. One second he was thrown around like a rag doll, the next he was taking my gunshots without even flinching.”

Cinder was taken back from hearing this. “What do you mean?”

“Well, apparently, he is much stronger than we originally thought. When I grabbed Ruby he became enraged, walking over to me with glowing red eyes that looked like they were miniature suns taking their place. When I tried to kick him, my leg shattered into pieces. Meanwhile, he didn’t even looked phased by the attack. Then he grabbed me and threw me about half a mile away, barely putting any effort into his throw by the looks of it. Never seen anything like it before.” Mercury said.

Cinder thought for a few seconds, trying to take all of this new information in. She then decided to look too her master for some insight. “What do you think, mistress?” She then noticed that her master was silent after a few seconds passed. It was only then that she looked at Salem closely that she saw something really odd.

Salem looked absolutely shocked from what she just heard. It was like she had just heard something that changed how her plans were going to turn out. The fall maiden had never seen her master like this once. She was honestly concerned due to the fact that she was so taken aback by what she had heard.

Meanwhile, Salem’s mind was racing with thoughts of fear and shock. It...it can’t be. That’s impossible! None of them should be alive!! She didn’t know how this was possible, but now she had to rethink everything again. This was not something that could be taken lightly whatsoever.

Cinder was confused at this point. “Master, is...everything alright?” she said with a concerned tone that snapped Salem out of her trance. She looked over to her apprentice and her lackey, realizing that they were still present. She soon stood up from her throne, reapplied her wicked look, and said to Cinder in an intimidating tone.

“Cinder, have Emerald come back to take Mercury out of my sight. It’s time we have a talk.”

Cinder nodded with a look of acceptance as she sent Emerald a message on her scroll. The thief soon came in and took Mercury out of the throne room. When the left, the two immediately started to talk of what just happened.

“So...you didn’t get punished?” The thief said.

“Not at all. It seems that lord Salem just got really freaked out over what I just said about Arc. Never saw her like this once.” the assassin said to her as she took her back to the infirmary.

Emerald sighed “Well, so much for finally getting you to shut up. You should be glad that Volgin got a new leg for you. From what I heard, it wasn’t easy for him to acquire.”   
Mercury grinned smugly at Emerald. “Awww, thanks for showing some concern, nurse.” he said to her in a mellow voice. Emerald responded with a growl to her partner.

Back in the throne room, the Grimm queen and the fall maiden were in the middle of a heated discussion with Cinder particularly not being pleased.

“You wish for me to forget about Ruby Rose and go after Arc instead? Forgive me my queen, but I don’t see any reason for it whatsoever.”

Salem merely looked back at her sinisterly. “I assure you, my apprentice, that when you have walked along this world as long as I have, you encounter many powerful beings in the world. This boy may just have a power beyond anything you have ever seen.”

Cinder was taken aback by this statement. “Are you saying...that his power could match a maiden?”

Salem looked incredibly serious as she said her next sentence. “I’m saying his power is beyond a maiden, far beyond one.”

Cinder was now just baffled by what she just said and her mind was flooded with thoughts. Arc having more power than a maiden? That was absurd! How could someone so weak hold so much power, enough to make the Grimm queen herself terrified? If he did hold this power, why hasn’t he shown any sign of it before? Was it his semblance? This seemed like such a huge risk to take for someone who has shown time and time again to be a weakling. Cinder just couldn’t buy it.

“I’m sorry, my queen, but I can’t agree with you on this decision. I don’t believe that-”

Cinder didn’t get to finish that sentence as she started to gasp for air, a pool of black aura surrounding her neck. She noticed that Salem was staring at her angrily with her hand held out, emitting a black aura around it.

“Do you doubt me, my apprentice?”

Cinder failed to respond as she was still being choked by Salem’s magic. She did, however, manage to make a face of terror as her master continued her ministrations.  
“I surely don’t need to remind you of all of the gifts you have received from me. The ability to steal the maiden’s powers, the magic I transcribed into your body, the hell which I saved you from. And you still doubt me?!!” She practically screamed as she loosened the spell on her apprentice.

Cinder was now barely able to mutter a response. “Ack, Gck...no...gasp”

Salem released the women as she began gasping for air on the crimson tiled floor. “That’s what I thought. Now gather your equipment and bring the boy to me. You leave in the morning.” she said as she

Cinder was still against this plan, but complied anyway. No need to enrage the alpha any further. “As you wish, my queen.” she said with a bow and walked out of the throne room, leaving the grimm queen alone in thought.

So, even in death you still are a giant nuisance to me. No matter, your son will still fall in the end just like you did, Jor-El. Salem thought wickedly as she held her hands tightened their grip on the arms of the black throne. She wouldn’t get to think any more gleeful thoughts however, knowing that her greatest threat has once again returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Things take a dark turn for team RNJR.
> 
> As always, I look forward to reviews of this chapter and advice on the story so far. I’m always open to feedback and ways to improve this story.
> 
> Lastly, I have to make a Big Shoutout to fellow writer UGX7, who responded to a message on my story that I sent to him. He was a big inspiration on me writing this story and being a writer in general. If you love RWBY, I highly suggest that you read his story Destiny of Remnant. It’s easily my favorite RWBY fanfic on this site. And a huge inspiration to this story.


	4. Separation

Chapter 4: Separation

Jaune grunted as he blocked the claw of an ursa major with his shield. It was kinda funny of how this was so reminiscent of what happened a year ago. Of course, he was a much better fighter now. He put all of his strength into his arms and thrown the ursa off balance with his shield. He then proceeded to jump up and shrug his show through it’s head, killing it instantly. He took the blade out and sheathed it as the corpse disintegrated. Looking around, he saw his teammates had successfully won their fights with the grimm as well, although they were not flawless victories.

It had been four days since the encounter with Mercury Black and team RNJR was only a few miles away from Haven City. They would’ve continued had it not been the fact that it was nighttime and they were all exhausted. It had practically been non-stop fighting for the team for the past couple of days. Grimm seemed to ambush them at every corner and now and the scars of battle were starting to show. Nora had a sprained ankle from a deathstalker fight and Ren had taken a powerful punch to the gut by a beringuel. Jaune and Ruby both had cuts and bruises from the fights as well.

Soon, the team regrouped to get a status report on their mission. The four decided to camp out where they were for the night. It was fortunate that they have been fighting in a good spot where there were no trees so they could settle down. They really needed to rest before arriving at the city.

As Jaune and Ren seated up the sleeping bags, the blonde knight noticed there weren’t any suitable trees around to cut down for firewood. He immediately talked to Ruby about. “Most of this wood is damp from the rain. I’m going to go a little further in the forest to try to find some dry wood to use.” 

Ruby looked a little worried but complied with him. “Alright Jaune, just be careful and call us if you need help.” Jaune nodded and setted off into the woods. As soon as he was out of sight, Ruby decided to call a private team meeting with Nora and Ren. Ever since the village incident, team RNJR have been encountering Grimm way too often. The reaper had a hunch on what was causing all this, but she had to be sure.

Alright, let’s do this. She thought with determination as she walked over to Nora and Ren, who were looking over supplies. “Hey guys, mind if we have a talk right now? It’s important.”

The two soon looked at her worried eyes. Ren was the first to speak. “It concerns Jaune, doesn’t it?”

Ruby nodded instantly. “I’ve been worried about ever since the fall of Beacon. It was bad before but now,-” Ruby turned around with her arms crossed. “-I feel that it’s gotten to the point that he may do ‘terrible things’. He barely has the will to fight anymore.”

Nora stood up to pat her on the back. “It’s sad to see him like this. Jauney use to be a great leader. I loved following him into battle. Ever since Pyrrha’s death,...it’s like he’s a totally different person now.” The hammer wielder said with a saddened look on her face. 

Ruby turned around to face the two of them. “That’s not the only thing. You guys notice how much more grimm we have been fighting lately?” The partners nodded. “I...I think that he's the reason why we have been encountering so many of them. His depression must be drawing them to us.”

Ren had to agree with his new leader. “I can’t deny that. If this keeps up, we may eventually be in a fight beyond any of our skills. Still though, he won’t be the one to bring it up. How do you propose we talk with him about?”

“Well for one thing, you shouldn’t try talking behind his back!!”

The three teens jumped in shock and turned around to see the very person they were talking about. There friend and teammate, Jaune Arc, barring a very angry look on his face and holding a log under his left arm. The log was cut from a tree stump and looked to weigh at least 25 pounds.

Ruby was shocked and scared as she shot up straight. “Jaune! You heard...everything?”

Jaune then pointed to his ear with his right pointer finger. “Enhanced hearing, remember?” He walked over towards them standing two feet from Ruby. “Now then, what do you three possibly want to talk about?” 

Ruby looked back at her teammates and they both nodded, even though Nora seemed to have a nervous look on her face. Ruby turned around, took a deep breath, and opened her mouth. “Jaune, you are my best friend. I care deeply for you just like as Ren and Nora do. I also, however, feel that this depression of yours has gone far enough. All three of us are very worried about you.” She said with a heartfelt and caring voice.

Jaune took the log and held the one end with his two hands as she continued. “Over the past couple of days, you have been acting like a broken man. You looked as though you were going to kill Mercury with your bare hands and frankly, I miss the old Jaune.” Jaune’s hands began to tremble with rage as small sounds of wood tearing came from the log. “We understand that you’ve been suffering and we-”

SCHREEECK!!

Ruby jumped as she saw Jaune rip the log into half with his bare hands. She was stunned, even for Nora or Yang that would have required a good amount of effort, and he just tore t like it was piece of paper. He dropped the two pieces on the ground and looked at her with an enraged face. “YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT ABOUT WHAT I’M FEELING!!!!!”

All three of the teens jumped at the blond night yelling at them like they had just committed the cardinal sin. They were all to scared to talk back as Jaune turned away with his hands on his head.

“We have been walking around Vale and Mistral for six months now on a stupid mission that will no doubt get us all killed! We have seen people suffered left and right and we feel that we can do some good in the world.” He turns around to face them still bearing the angered look. “My partner and best friend is dead! She died at making a pointless attempt to be a hero! And now, we are on a suicide mission to find and defeat a woman who has more power than any of us! And you think you know how I feel and that I can just change back to my old self?!!”

Ren tried to reason with Jaune. “Jaune, don’t be ridiculous. This mission was never pointless. We can’t just let Cinder get away with what she has done. Besides, we have been helping people left and right. Just think how how a week back ou led us to the village and saved all those people, including that little girl you saved yourself. You’ve already proved that this quest was not pointless.”

Jaune merely got angrier at hearing him say that. “Oh, thanks Ren. You have just reminded me on how I failed to save that little girl’s parents and how she has to live in a terrible world where no place is safe and without any mother or father. You make me feel sooo much better.” Jaune said sarcastically in his rage.

It was Nora’s turn to speak up. “Jauney, please. We’re only trying to help you.” She said passionately as Ren looked around to make sure no grimm were coming due to Jaune’s rage.

Jaune then turned his rage to her. “Well guess what?! You aren’t doing anything good! All your doing is giving me more firepower so that when I see the bitch who ruined our lives, I will grab her by the neck and tear out her throat! And if I don’t, than I die a pointless death!!” He all but practically screamed at her.

Nora wasn’t going to give up that easily. “But Jaune-”

Jaune finally fully snapped. He looked at her and screamed again. “SHUT UP, You stupid bitch!!!”

Hearing that out of the blue, Ruby put her hand to her mouth, absolutely horrified with what the once happy knight said. Ren couldn’t believe it earlier as he looked at Nora, who was tearing up at the fact that she said that at him. He then got mad and looked back at Jaune to fire back with his own anger.

“Don’t you dare call her that again!!”

Jaune merely looked at him with the same angry face as he did with the rest of his team and redirected his anger at him. “OH, sorry Ren. I forgot that your stoic ass was going to show me the way to peace and tranquility. Why don’t you worry about yourself and stay the fuck out of my business!!” 

 

By this point, Ruby had heard enough. She soon expressed her thoughts to her blond teammate. “ENOUGH!!! Jaune, stop this right now!! We all know that you suffered a lot, but that doesn’t give you the right to insult us!” She said to him with anger in her own eyes. Jaune merely walked up to her and stared right into her eyes, his face being a few inches from hers.

“Or what? Your mommy is going to protect you?”

Silence fell over the woods after those words came out of Jaune’s mouth. Nora put both her hands over her mouth, Ren’s jaw dropped as his face changed from anger to horror. It was only when Jaune noticed their reactions did he wonder if he went too far. And then he looked back at Ruby’s face.

The reaper's eyes were wide opened and teary. Her mouth was opened as her face quivered. She had never heard anyone say anything that harsh to her in her entire life. She looked like a little girl who had just remembered that her mother was no longer with her. It was then that Jaune realized the horrible mistake he had committed. He tried to apologize right away.

“Oh god...Ruby I’m so sor-”

He didn’t get to finish as he felt a sharp pain in his left cheek that forced his face back. Ruby had slapped him as hard as she could with her right hand. She now had a face of pure rage as her eyes still had tears in them.

“HOW DARE YOU!!!!!” she screamed at him with pure anger and rage. Jaune was still reeling in pain from the slap. “I’ve always been their for you since the very beginning just like you’ve been there for me! Don’t you dare bring my dead mother into this you stupid, worthless, bast-”

Now it was Ruby’s turn to be interrupted as Jaune slowly recovered from the slap and was face to face with her again. This time, however, his eyes were glowing pure red again to accompany an even angrier face on Jaune’s head. Ruby was soon snapped out of her rage as she looked into the eyes of the knight that was once her best friend. The veins surrounding the eyes were pure black as they were revealed in his current state. It also sounded like small sparks were coming from his eyes.

It looked the same as when he was fighting Mercury the other day. 

“Ja-Jaune?” Ruby said fearfully as he stared at her for a few seconds. Ren and Nora wanted to intervene, but found themselves unable to move, too terrified to take action due to Jaune’s behavior. Jaune soon raised his left hand and placed it on her sternum. Time slowed down as Ruby looked from her sternum back into Jaune’s glowing red eyes. For the first time ever, she truly saw the look of murderous intent on his face as head gritted his teeth and performed his intended action.

Jaune lightly pushed Ruby with his left hand, at least it seemed lightly. Ruby went flying at the push and flew back a few hundred feet, smashing through a tree and tumbling on the ground. The very force of the impact was enough to break her aura as she screamed in pain.

“AAAAGGGGHHH!!!!”

“RUBY!!!!” Ren and Nora screamed as they ran over to her and crouched down to make sure she was alright. Her aura took most of the damage, but she still clutched her right arm in pain.

Jaune soon blinked, reverting his eyes back to their normal state as he looked on in horror and realization at what he has done. The tree that Ruby was pushed into was completely snapped into two pieces, leaving a half broken tree s standing in its place while the other half was on the ground next to Ruby. Fragments of wood were scattered around the area from the impact. Jaune soon bough his hand right in front of his face as he stared at it in horror and then back at the reaper.  
“I...I didn’t...did...yeeaaaagggggghhhhh” Jaune screamed as he dashed away into the forest with his superhuman speed. The three teens watched as he ran off like a bullet out of a rifle.

Ruby shot up and tried to run after him. “Jaune, Wait!!!” It was fruitless, however, as he was long gone. Ruby collapsed on her knees as she slammed her fist into the ground and cried out in pain, frustration, and sadness, tears falling from her eyes. Ren wrapped her arms around Nora as she cried into his shoulder. Another friend had ran away.

Meanwhile, an amber eyed woman in a red dress who was observing them from the tree lines had jumped off to follow the blond knight. She was smiling to herself all the while. Well...that was an unexpected surprise. Thank you, Jaune. You have just made this so much easier. Cinder thought to herself as she went after her prey.

(Insert Line)

Jaune had been dashing through the woods for 10 minutes now and soon took a moment to stop to catch his breath. He had came to a river where the tree line broke off a few feet away from the water. The moon was shining right as it provided light to the area.

Jaune collapsed on his knees and panted, not from exhaustion but over the emotional trauma he and Ruby had just suffered from. His hands had soon gripped the grass, ripping it from the ground with some soil along with it. He then screamed in anger once again as he punched the ground, causing it to collapse and making a noticeable hole in the dirt that was pretty deep that he now was in. Why? Why did he have to go and do that? Why did he have to take his rage out on them? They didn’t deserve it. They had merely done nothing but fighting against those who sent society into disarray a few months back. Even with the odds against them, they trudged forward with the intent to stop those who have caused such pain and misery.

And what had Jaune been doing? He had merely followed them, hoping only to kill the women who took Pyrrha away from him and everyone else. Sure he helped people along the way, but in the end he only had one real objective. How could he have been so selfish? How could he fight for himself and not for anyone else?

Was this what Pyrrha would have wanted him to be?

...

 

No. Pyrrha would have wanted him to move on. She would have wanted him to fight with compassion and protect the innocent. She wouldn’t want him to be a man filled with hatred, fighting only for revenge and nothing else. That was not the man she fell in love with.

That was the man he was right now. That was the man he would continue to be if he continued to follow this path. He wouldn’t stand for this any longer.

Jaune stood back up as he wiped a tear from his face. He knew what had to be done. He would go back to his team, apologize for his actions, and continue his mission to bring peace to the world. He would do this not just for himself or Pyrrha, but for his friends, his family, for every person on this planet he called home. It wasn’t going to be easy, but that wouldn’t stop him from doing what was right.

He climbed out of the hole, dusted himself off, and prepared to retrace his footsteps back to his team. I hope they forgive me for what I’ve done. I know I don’t forgive myself for what happened to Ruby. The boy thought sadly to himself as he started back into the woods. He soon stopped in his tracks when he heard a familiar sound.

Something big was moving in the tree line again. It wasn't making a metal sound so he could rule out Mercury Black, not that he was expecting him after that last incident with him. This person had a familiar sound with them as he heard a string being stretched. Jaune’s eyes widened as he jumped back.

FWOOSH*

THWOOP*

The knight landed back by the hole with his sword and shield out. He looked at the tree he was standing by and noticed an arrow sticking out of the trunk. Before he could turn to face his assailant, he heard her sinister voice.

“Well now, that was quite an impressive feat coming from you.”

Jaune turned back to look at the tree where the voice was coming from to see a sight that made his breath stop. There, standing in the tree, was the women she had been looking for smiling sinisterly. The women in the red dress with the bow that ruined the lives of so many. The women who had killed Pyrrha.

Cinder Fall.  
Jaune immediately became enraged at seeing the women once again. She dared to try to attack him after all the shit that he and his friends have been through. He couldn’t believe it. The nerve of this woman.

“You’ll find that I’m full of surprises. I had a long night and am now currently pissed off.” He pointed his blade at her. “I’m going to make you pay for what you have done!”

 

Cinder chuckled at the boy’s threat “You? The weakest hunter in all of Beacon? Your hardly worth my time.”

“Than why come after me then? Surely you have bigger things to worry about.” Jaune retorted.

Cinder sighed as she jumped from the tree. “If it’s any reassurance to you, I don’t think you're that much of a threat. I’m only here because my master insists on having a word with you.” She said, catching Jaune off guard. Cinder wasn’t the mastermind behind the attack on Vale? There someone possibly even more powerful than her pulling the strings and this person or thing wanted to see him? That was a shock.

“Well...tell you master that I am not going with you willingly. This is for Pyrrha.” He said as he prepared for conflict. He knew the odds were against him, but he had to try.

Cinder chuckled again as she put away her bow, briefly confusing Jaune until she expunged a fireball from her palm. Jaune’s eyes widened again. Oh Shit!

Jaune dived out of the way as a fireball came right at him and set the tree behind ablaze. He rolled on the ground and noticed that Cinder was missing. He looked around to try and find her only for a whisper to grace his right ear.

“Do you really think you can avenge her?”

Jaune yelled a battle cry as he swiped his sword at her. She blocked it with her dual blades and then parried his next attack to catch him off guard. She swiped at him only for the knight to dodge and bash her with his shield. Cinder merely caught herself and then the two engaged in a duel with their swords. The swords clashed as the night was filled with the sound of blades moving against one another.

Jaune had improved over the past couple of months, but Cinder was way ahead of him in combat. Eventually, he tried to stab her resulting in his sword being caught in her two blades. Cinder was able to throw Crocea Mors away and then kicked him in the stomach, knocking him back. Jaune flew into another tree and felt shear pain in his back from hitting the tree Cinder walked towards him.

“She wasn’t able to defeat me, Ozpin wasn’t able to defeat me, what makes you think you have a shot?!” The women said.

Jaune looked around and saw his sword stuck in a trunk of a tree about 10 yards away. He picked up his shield and ran as fast as he could towards the swords location; his super speed wasn’t active at the moment and he was running like a normal man.

Cinder held her hands up high and created a fiery snake that slithered around her body. After motioning with her arms, the snake launched itself towards Jaune, forcing him to do a front flip forward with his shield protecting himas he flew through the air. He was barely able to dodge as the snake exploded knocking him on the ground on the tree where his sword was stuck onto. He teared it from the tree and got into a fighting stance.

“I don’t know, but hell with it! I’m going to try anyway!” he yelled as the two clashed once again. This time Cinder took the offensive as she swiped at him again and again with her blades, forcing Jaune on the defensive. The two then locked blades again as their faces were inches apart from each other

“Hmm, it’s a shame. You are quite the handsome one. I can kinda see what miss Nikos saw in you.” She said with a smirk in an attempt to anger him. It worked.

Jaune threw Cinder away and then delivered a fury of swipes at the women. “DON’T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME!!!!” Cinder merely dodged them and lande a slice on his left arm, drawing some blood as he yelled in pain.

The woman chuckled sadistically once again. “What’s wrong? Does hearing her name remind you about your failure to stop me? If it wasn’t for you I possibly would have failed to acquire my powers.” She walked up to Jaune as he was on one knee panting. “In a way, you are to blame for her death.”

Jaune snapped in anger once again and then rushed at her with superhuman speed. “SHUT UUUUPPPP!!!!!!!” He roared in anger as his fist collided with her stomach, knocking her back through a couple of trees, knocking her out of sight. Jaune panted with exhaustion and stress due to the events of this night, hoping that the fight was finally over.

It wasn’t.  
After a few seconds, three arrows came out of the woods and headed towards the knight. Jaune was held his shield up to block them only for the arrows to land around Jaune to form a triangle. This confused him for a moment until circular flames came out of each arrow making screeching sounds. Jaune tried to escape, but he was caught in the blast of a powerful explosion.

“GAAAAHHHHH!!!” He screamed in pain as his aura broke. The explosion knocked his sword away once again and completely caused his shield to crumble. Jaune fell on his stomach groaning in pain as his shield was completely destroyed.

“That is what you get for your foolishness.” Cinder said with an angry look. Jaune struggled to get up as Cinder walked over to him. “Perhaps my master was right about you, you clearly hold more power than I originally thought.” She stood in front of him as he got on his hands and knees and cupped his face, forcing him to look at her. “But just because you are powerful doesn’t give you the right to join us. I think I’ll remove this thorn once and for all.” She said as she released his face causing him to look down torwards the ground has he stood on his knees.. Her face soon returned to her evil smirk as she formed her bow once again.

“You know, the last thing Pyrrha ever said was if I believed in destiny or not. I said that I did.” She soon readied an arrow and aimed at Jaune’s head. “Do you believe in destiny?”

Time froze as Jaune hear those words. Those words that have haunted him since that fateful night at Beacon. Everytime he thought of those words he thought of Pyrrha and that moment they spent with each other behind the mess hall. It was then that he remembered Pyrrha’s empty look as she asked him the same question.

“Do you believe in destiny?”

Jaune remembered the beautiful girl once again. He then remembered a conversation he had with his father back on the family farm right before he left his town to go to Beacon, before his father’s death. He remembered the words he said to him. The words that would always be in his heart.

“You're just going to have to decide what kind of man you want to be, Jaune. Whoever that man is, good or bad, is going to change the world in someway. Whether it be for one person, or for the human race entirely.”

Jaune took those words with him wherever he went after that day. If he died now, what would his legacy be? How would he have changed the world? The answer was that he was an asshole to his teammates and lowered their morale to probably the lowest point it’s ever been. This was how he was going to be seen in the end?

No. It wouldn’t be. Not if he could help it.

Time returned to normal speed as Cinder released the cocked arrow causing it to fly towards Jaune’s chest. It never reached it’s target, however, s Jaune’s left hand launched upwards to catch it right before it impacted his skin. Cinder’s eyes widened with shock as Jaune spoke.

“You asked if I believed in destiny.” He said in an emotionless voice as his faced moved up to stare at hers. His eyes were glowing purely red once again as he snapped the arrow in half by gripping it tightly. “No. I still don’t.” 

Cinder was shocked beyond believe as the boy looked at her with pure hatred. “Wha-”

She couldn’t finish as her neck was grabbed by Jaunes right hand and she was choked slammed into the ground by the knight. This...This is his true power?!!! She thought as Jaune raised her face and slammed it into the ground once again.

“You think that your power is enough for the whole world to fear you, but you can’t even intimidate some huntsmen in training to give up on stopping you!!” He yelled as he threw her across the river, causing a dirt path to form as the flow of water changed. She tumbled and hit her back against a tree, breaking her aura and causing her to cough up blood. She tried to get up, but Jaune dashed right in front of her to prevent her escape.

“You think I’m pathetic,” He said as he grabbed her neck and held her up against the tree where her feet was off the ground. Cinder looked at him in fear and shock that this once worthless knight was able to defeat her. “Well this pathetic boy is about to end your reign of terror and for all!!” He yelled as he was about to run his right hand through her chest until a new voice stopped him.

“I don’t think so.”

Jaune blinked as his eyes reverted back to their blue normal state. “Wha-AAAAGGGHHHH” He screamed as he was hit by a black bolt of lightning. He dropped Cinder and fell back on the ground in pain. He tried to get up only to notice a larger women with white hair and skin and black and red eyes looking sinisterly into his soul. Jaune guessed that this was Cinder’s master.

“Sweet dreams.” she said as she held her hand up and fired another lightning built at him, knocking him unconscious. Salem then shot up a red rigid beam from her palm which lifted him off the ground and held him in the air. SHe turned to her apprentice as she was still gasping from the ordeal.

“See what happens when you disobey my orders. You could have knocked him unconscious easily but you decided to attempt to end his life. You should be grateful that I decided to intervene.” She said darkly as she fired another magic beam from her left hand and lifted his sword of the ground.

Cinder finally got up in her feet. “Forgive me master, I didn’t think he was worth it.” She was still shaken from the whole fight and was ready to head back to the castle with the women but Salem motioned to her to stop.

“No, it is now time for you to return yet. Get into contact with Taurus and have him get his men ready. It is time to begin phase two of our plan.” Salem said as she held her left arm up to create a red portal for her to travel back to her castle with Jaune and his sword in tow.

Cinder bowed to her. “As you wish, my queen. Forgive me, master, but what will happen when our newest member sees Arc?” The fall maiden said in a slightly troubled voice. “What if she remembers?”

Salem merely turned back and smiled sinisterly at her apprentice. “If that happens, we improvise.” she said and soon started to chuckle evilly as she disappeared into the portal with the knight as her prize. Soon the portal collapsed on itself, leaving Cinder alone once again. The fall maiden flew off into the night, getting ready for the next part of the plan.

End of Chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: A reunion between friends.


	5. Escape from Atlas

Chapter 5: Escape from Atlas

(Three days before Jaune’s disappearance)  
Weiss Schnee was currently staring at her reflection in the mirror of her luscious bedroom, wearing her bathrobe and the same face that she always wears these days: sad and helpless. She was going to have to leave her room soon; she and her father were about to east with Oliver Queen of Queen Industries, one of the most powerful tech developers on the planet. Frederick hoped that Mr Queen would be willing to make a deal in order to provide more profit between the companies. Weiss was very decisive on the issue. On one hand, her father would be happy and she would have an easier time adjusting to home life. On the other hand, her father would be pissed if the deal failed and frankly, Weiss liked to see things slip from underneath him.

She was in her thoughts when a knock adverted her attention back to her closed door. “Miss Schnee, your father is waiting for your arrival at the foyer to greet mister Queen.” Portia called to her. Weiss looked back to the door to answer.

“I’ll be right down, Portia.” She soon got up and went to her wardrobe to put on her blue and white glittering skirt she adored. She may not like it here, but she had to admit that she missed her favorite outfits that were left at home. After getting dressed and doing her makeup, she opened her door and went downstairs to the foyer where her father was once again tapping his foot impatiently.

“Ah, there you are Weiss. Surely I don’t have to remind you on how important this dinner is?” He asked impatiently.

Weiss looked at him with a fake calm look. “No, father, I am most aware on how this deal could affect the company. I am sure Mr. Queen will agree to the deal.

Frederick stood up straight with an intimidating look on his face. “He better, at least he actually has the manners to come to our house unlike that blasted playboy Bruce Wayne!” He said lacing that last name with acid in his voice.

Weiss nodded as she remembered that day all too well. Wayne Enterprises was the single most powerful company in the history of Remnant. A deal with that company would provide billions of lien for whoever partnered with them. When her father politely sent an invitation to the man, Bruce turned him down, claiming that the Schnee Dust Company was too ‘morally reprehensible’ to work with. Needless to say, her father was furious that day.

Before Weiss could respond, a limousine could be heard pulling into the driveway of Schnee Manor. The father and daughter exited the front door and stood walked toward the limousine to greet the CEO. The limo opened to reveal a man in his late twenties wearing a black suite and red tie. He had short brown hair and had a trim beard and goatee to accompany his face and cobalt eyes.

The man walked up and shook hands with Mr. Schnee. “Oliver, we are so pleased to see that you have arrived at our Manor.” He said with false friendliness in his voice.

Mr. Queen shook the elder Schnee’s hand firmly. “It’s my pleasure to come here, Frederick. I hope we are able to do great things in the future.” He soon turn his attention to Weiss. “Ms. Schnee, it’s an honor to meet you.” He said as he took her hand and kissed it.

Weiss merely bowed with her skirt in her hands like she does after a performance. “The pleasure is all mine, Mr Queen. I trust that you had a pleasant trip?”

Oliver merely smiled at the girl. “It was quite the drive for the most part, but a trip is a trip. And please, call me Oliver.” Weiss couldn’t help but smile back at the man. She always like Oliver Queen, he was a kind man ad always believed in good morals and business ethics. She assumed that he decided to meet her father because he was young and somewhat inexperienced at owning a company.

Frederick decided that introductions were complete and that it was time to get down to business. “Well, I think we ought to go in. Renaldo just got a shipment of Vacuo beef. It’s exquisite.” Oliver nodded as the three went into Schnee Manor.

(Insert Line)

Dinner in the dining room of Schnee manor was as lovely as one could imagine. A beautiful glass table with gems embodied on the edges and a white and blue chandelier hanging over the table where the master and his guests eat. The table was long enough to fit 16 people for dinner, although it only had three people sitting at it tonight. Mr Schnee and Mr Queen both took the ends of the table as Weiss sat between them at an equal distance from the two men. So far, everything seemed to be going well enough. Being one of the wealthiest men in Remnant, Frederick had nothing but the best chefs available to cook for him year round. The Vacuo beef was served well done with Mistral corn and asparagus on the side. One might find this to be a simple meal, but Mr. Queen was known to be a simple guy with simple tastes, hence why they were eating this.

Weiss was merely thinking to herself while eating. The conversation between the two men was nothing but business, stuff Weiss really was not interested in. There was little to no doubt that the two men wouldn’t come up on an arrangement, Queen industries being a weapons distributor and the Schnee Dust Company being a dust contributor. It seemed like a match made in heaven itself.

“I have to say Mr. Schnee, this steak is absolutely fantastic. You truly have a talented staff in the kitchen.” Oliver said to praise Mr. Schnee.

Mr. Schnee gave a chuckle and responded. “Why of course, Oliver. Only the best of the best work for my family and guests.”

Mr. Queen then decided to talk to Weiss as she barely talked this evening. “So, Ms. Schnee, I saw your fights in the tournament. You were absolutely fantastic. As graceful as a dancer.”

Weiss escaped from her thoughts to answer Oliver with a weak smile. “Thank you, Mr. Queen.” She soon went back to eating with a sad look on her face. The young CEO picked up on that and realised his mistake.

“I’m...I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up that tragedy.” He looked over to Mr. Schnee, hoping he didn’t enrage either of the two. Mr. Schnee merely made a scowl at his daughter as he answered Mr. Queen.

“It’s alright, Oliver. She learn to move on from that terrible attack.” Mr. Schnee regained his composure as he began to talk. “It’s freaks like the White Fang that deserve the blame for that catastrophe.” 

Weiss started to get annoyed on the inside. Oh lord. Not this again. She braced herself for a rant about the faunus by her father. 

Mr Schnee stated his speech. “Those animals think that by attacking innocent people with the Grimm that they will get respect and equality for themselves. They think that bloodshed is the answer. They will learn soon enough that war is anything but beautiful!” Mr Schnee said as he was getting angry just thinking about that catastrophe. He has already lost enough people form the White Fang. Seeing the terrorist group in the news was enough to make him angry for the entire day. “I should have never allowed Weiss to go to that school. She could have been killed fighting for peace.”

Weiss was starting to get angry from hearing her father’s speech. She had heard it so many times about how the faunas were monsters and they should all be punished. He talks about how he is against bloodshed and yet he practically has the race as his slave. He is such a hypocrite. 

Oliver was rather thrown by all of this. “Well, We can only hope that the brave men and women fighting in Vale will take it back soon. We will have to be more prepared in the future for attacks like this.”

Frederick responded with a huff. “Prepare? Why not start now? I say all the faunes should be taken to a wall and shot.”

*THOMP*

The two CEOs turned to see Weiss with her right fist on the table and her face fuming with anger. “Really dad?!! Your such a hypocrite!!!”

Both were thrown back by this as Mr. Schnee got angry. “Care to repeat that?”

Weiss was now furious. She had heard enough. “While I despise the White Fang, I don’t believe in the genocide of an entire race. Especially when some of them are proven to be good people!”

Frederick was now fuming with rage. “People? Those animals deserve to be caged up and mocked for their crimes. They murdered your mother and plenty of family members!! And you still decide to lay your sword down for them?!!!”

Weiss stood up from her seat. “I wanted to be a huntress to protect the innocent from the Grimm and people who would harm them. People like You!!!” She soon started to walked out of the room.

Mr Schnee shot up himself to try and stop her. “Weiss Schnee!!! We have a guest over here for dinner and you decide to storm out of the dining room?!! You are a Schnee! You will get back here this instant!!” Weiis was at the exit when he said that prompting her to turn around to face her father.  
“Well, I am sure not proud to be a Schnee.” She said bitterly as she left and walked upstairs.

Frederick put his hand on his face as he turned around to face Oliver. “I am sorry you had to see that Oliver. I hope we can still do business.”

Oliver merely stood up. “I think it’s best that I take my leave. I can understand why Bruce Wayne didn’t want anything to do with your company.” He began to walk out as he took out his scroll to send a text to his driver.

Mr Schnee went up to him to attempt to stop him. “Oliver please. I will make it worth your time. I swear!!”

Mr. Queen merely stared at him as if he was a criminal looked at him as he shook his hand off his arm. “Too late for that. This was already a waste of my time to begin with.” He walked out Schnee manor and entered his limosuine as Mr Schnee stood by the front door to watch. As soon as the black limo was gone. Mr. Schnee growled as he stomped his foot down and went back into his home.

It would not be a peaceful night at the manor now.

(Insert Line)

Weiss couldn’t take it anymore. She went to her room and slammed the door shut. She was sick of being a helpless damsel held captive in a dungeon against her own will. She needed to get out of here. The only question was how? Her father had a tight grip on Schnee manor and she couldn’t just escape. Security would find her and she would be put under even tighter supervision by her father. It’s times like these that she wished Winter was here to give some insight, but she was with General Ironwood in Mistral, trying to reconfigure the alliance between the two nations.

Weiss sat on her bed and jumped into thought, hearing the sound of Oliver Queen’s limousine leaving the driveway, probably infuriating her father even more. Good. He doesn’t deserve it. She thought bitterly. She didn’t hate her father, but she despised how he was these days. The fact that the White Fang attacked Beacon while she was there made him an overprotected nut who absolutely despised the faunus now. She could only hope that he never meets Bl-

“Well I have to say, I’m amazed on how far you have came, Weiss.”

The heiress’s eyes shot wide open as she turned towards the balcony to see the window open and a familiar face standing their. She couldn’t believe it, but she knew damn well who it was.

“Blake?” Weiss could hardly believe her eyes as she saw her faunus teammate standing on the balcony with a smirk.

“Just a year go you seemed so much like that man, now you are truly the person I hoped you would become.” Blake said as Weiss ran up to her and the two embraced in a hug. It had been six months since the two had seen each other and both were pleased to be reunited once again.

*BONK*

Blake jerked her head back as she recovered from a hit on the head by Weiss. “Oww.”

Weiss soon turned annoyed. “You dolt. You ran from us after we escaped Beacon and didn’t even say a word. Do you have an idea how worried we all were about you when you did that?” She said quietly so she would not alert anyone. 

Blake gave a sad look. “I know. I’m sorry that I ever left in the first place. I thought that it would be for the best for what had happened to Yang but-”

Weiss had to interject there. “Blake, she never blamed you for what happened to her. If anything, you hurt her more by taking off like that. Before my father took me back here, I saw how depressed she was. She looked absolutely miserable.” Hearing that made Blake feel terrible. She thought that Yang would never forgive her for what had happened with Adam. Now she could only hope she would forgive her for running once again.

Weiss noticed that Blake felt bad and decided to change the subject. “So, how did you get in Atlas? Things have been pretty tight sin the attack on Vale.”

Blake smirked at that. “I ran into a kid in Vale. He had a friend fly me here after he heard of my problem. He was cocky, but taught me an important lesson.” Blake said as she remembered what Thomas had done for her. “There is an airship waiting for us at a heliport nearby. ” 

Weiss was a taken aback by that statement. “Us? You mean…”

Blake rolled her eyes. “Yes, Weiss. I’ve come to break you out of here. I hope your retained your skills in fighting.”

Weiss smirked at that. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ve kept up.”

(Insert Line)

After 30 minutes of walking stealthy throughout the streets of Atlas, Weiss and Blake had finally arrived at the docking bay for airships. It wasn’t very crowded as Atlas had tight security since the battle of Vale. Unfortunately, the two teammates were about to discover that the hard way. 

As Blake and Weiss snuck around security at the airport, they noticed that the ship that brought Blake to Atlas was heavily guarded by two members of the Atlas military. It looked like that their getaway was compromised as they hid behind some cargo.

“Shit!” said Blake in a whisper. “The pilot told me to run while he dealt with security. They forced him to make an emergency landing with They must have taken him in for questioning or something.”

Weiss took a good look at the airship. “That’s a T-16 Transporter. One of the older models Atlas had more than a decade ago.” She said with a smile on her face.

Blake immediately took notice of Weiss’s excitement. She looked like Ruby when she saw a weapon she really liked. “Umm...yes it is. What’s your point with that statement?”

Weiss looked back with a smirk. “I can fly that ship out of here.”

Blake was honestly shocked to hear that out of the blue. If there was one person she was not expecting to be a pilot, it was the Schnee heiress. “Really? When and where did you learn to fly airships?”

Weiss sighed at that. “I didn’t want to learn it at first, but my father insisted upon me learning at as soon as possible. He always believed that a Schnee should be prepared for any situation no matter what. It also helped do to the fact that flying has always been a big part of our company. I was taught when I was 12 to fly many different ships. I’ve been out of practice for a while, but I definitely remember how to fly.”

Blake took this information in as she slowly nodded her head. “Ok, so we have a way outta here. But that still doesn’t explain how we are going to escape. Most likely we could be shot down by the military for stealing a ship.”

Weiss decided to put her hand on her chin and think for a minute. It was a tough situation, no doubt about that, but no problem can’t be overcome as far as she was concerned. After thinking for a minute or two, she came up with a plan.

“Blake, do you trust me?”

Blake nodded as she was ready to hear her teammates plan. “Of course I do. Why do ask that?”

Weiss looked at her friend and sighed. “Because you are definitely not going to like it.”

(Insert Line)

Meanwhile, the two men guarding the ship were minding their own business, chatting about current events in the world.

“So, any news on how the alliance is progressing with Mistral?” said one of the soldiers.

“Well last I heard, it finally seems that some progress is being made between the two at the conference. Took them long enough. What would Atlas have to gain from attacking Vale anyway?” said the other soldier with an annoyed voice.

“Hell if I know, but that's how people are these days. They make assumptions as soon as they see something unusual and draw conclusions without hearing anything else.” the first guard said as a Blake dropped between the two of them. “Hey what th-?”

He couldn’t finish as Blake delivered a powerful kick to his head. The other soldier tried to strike, but he was put in solid ice by a glyph underneath him. Weiss soon came out of hiding and checked the unconscious guard Blake kicked. Surely enough, he had the keys to the ship on him.

“Idiots.” Weiss muttered as she had the doors opened to the ship and climbed on board. She activated the transport as she checked over systems and made sure it was ready to fly. Blake, meanwhile, remained on the lookout for anymore guards. 

“All systems are to go. Get on board and lets fly.” Weiss said to the faunus. She nodded but had an annoyed look on her face as she closed all the doors. Weiss took the throttle in her hand as the ship started to levitate into the air from its rocket jets. Soon enough, Weiss received a radio message on the transponder.

“Unidentified aircraft, this is control. You are currently making a unauthorized takeoff. Desist at once and land immediately.” said a burly, intimidating voice of an Atlas officer.

Weiss looked over to Blake who sighed as she took the headphones for the radio and put them on to respond. “That will not be happening, control. I will take off and you will let me leave Atlas at once.”

The commander growled. “Whoever you are, you sure have balls trying to take off in Atlas military airspace. I would advise you not to do that, however, as I can have fighters up there to shoot you down in a matter of seconds should you try and escape.” The officer said.

Blake shook her head in shame for what she was about to do. “That wouldn’t be a good idea, especially since I have Weiss Schnee aboard this aircraft. Unless you want her father to gaze upon her remains of the wreckage, I wouldn’t do that.”

If Blake could see the officer on the other side of the radio, she would see the look of horror across his face. She could then hear him talking to someone else before returning to speak. “What are your demands?”

“I wish to leave Atlas with miss Schnee. If anyone follows, I will slit her throat. Her father will also not be notified of her kidnapping. Do all of this, and I guarantee that she will survive.”

After waiting a few seconds for a response, Blake heard the officer's voice. “Very well, you’re free to leave. Just know this, when Mrs. Schnee’s sister finds out about what you have done, she’ll be coming for you.”

Blake merely gave a chuckle to solidify her act. “That won’t be too much of a problem.” Blake then hanged up the headphones as the ship took off and flew away. Surely enough, no fighters were dispersed to follow them.

Weiss couldn’t help but smile, she was finally able to leave Atlas and she could fight once again. Her smile faded when she noticed Blake holding a face of shame. She patted her back to reassure her. “I know that was tough, but it was for the best. Now we can fly out of here.”

Blake looked at her with a glare but soon sighed as she looked out at the city. “I know, but I feel like a terrorist once again. I wish there was another way.” The two remained silent for a few seconds, trying to deal with the fact that they had just lied to Atlas military and faked a kidnapping.

Blake decided to break the silence. “So, where are we going?”

Weiss looked at the navigational system. “Last I heard from Yang, Ruby and the remains of Jaune’s team were heading towards Haven city where Ironwood is currently working with the Mistral council. I say we head there.” Weiss hadn’t heard from Ruby for a long time. She wanted to see her again in hopes that she is ok. Plus, she hasn’t seen the rest of team JNPR since the attack on Beacon.

Blake nodded her head. While she hoped to see Yang again, she understood why Ruby was a higher priority. Yang was safe back in Patch as far as she knew. “Alright, what’s our ETA?”

Weiss looked off into the horizon with determination and faith. “A few days at least, but we’ll get there.” The heiress said as they were leaving the city of Atlas. Weiss knew all too well the truth of her purpose.

It was time to fight for mankind and faunus kind.

End Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Jaune awakens to a terrible realization.


	6. A Fate Worse Than Death.

Chapter 6: A fate worse than death

(Cue The Bridge of Khazad Dum(Man of Steel teaser music))

Jaune’s eyes started to shudder as he opened them to discover he was on snow. He quickly looked around to discover he was in a snowy wasteland with no signs of life in sight. Nothing but whiteness on the rocky terrain as the wind blew lightly to the north. The sun was just over the horizon, making its descent out of sight. It was truly a beautiful place.

Jaune stood up and peered in every direction, looking for bit of human contact. There was none. Where was he? How did he get here? He remembered that white women with blood red eyes shooting lightning at him and then he blacked out.

Was he dead? Was this heaven?

“Still the clueless yet charming knight as always.” Jaune’s eyes shot wide open at hearing that voice. It was a voice he never thought he would hear again. The voice which he fought for at first before vowing to fight for mankind in general. Jaune turned around to see her, that beautiful women with the crimson red hair flowing freely without her circlet standing a few feet away.

His partner, Pyrrha Nikos.

Jaune was barely able to muster a response. “P-P-Pyrrha?” He said softly that could barely be heard by the beautiful girl.

The invincible girl held out her hands with a warm smile on her face. “Come here, you dummy”

Jaune stumbled as he ran as fast as he could and embraced the girl in a powerful hug. “Pyrrha!!” He shouted as he cried in her arms.

Pyrrha had a tear fall down her right eye as she comforted the boy she loved. “I’m sorry Jaune. For leaving you all like that, for pushing you away, but it was the only way to keep you safe.” She said choked up as she wept with the boy. Soon the two looked into each other’s eyes, mesmerized for a few seconds before sealing the distance with their lips in a soft, passionate kiss.

“Pyrrha, am I dead?” Jaune asked fearfully.

The spartan shook her head as she answered. “No Jaune, you are merely dreaming. I managed to enter your dream to talk to you. I need to tell you something. It’s impor-” she was unable to finish as Jaune crashed his lips into hers for a deep kiss. Pyrrha's eyes were widened, but they soon closed as she receded the lip lock.

When they stopped, Jaune began to talk. “Pyrrha, for the past couple of months, I was a total wreck. I practically lost all reason to fight without you standing by my side. So...I think I know what you're going to say.” 

Pyrrha nodded as she looked into his cobalt eyes with everlasting love. 

“For a while, I fought to get revenge, to avenge your death from Cinder and her master. I was selfish, barely caring for my teammates and friends since you were the thing that drove me forward. It was only before I was knocked into this dream, that I discovered the truth.” Jaune said as he put his right hand on her left cheek. “I shouldn’t just be fighting for you, but for every person in this world. Every live on Remnant has value and I refuse to let revenge be my motivation for stopping them. That...is what I believe you wanted to say.”

Pyrrha was truly moved by Jaune’s speech. Another tear fell down from her right eye, but this one being of joy rather than sadness. Jaune had truly grown into the mature, caring man she had always hoped he would turn into. She smiled as she pushed forward to capture his lips one more time with all the passion she could muster. Jaune had his hand around her waist as Pyrrha’s were around his neck as they kissed for a minute before separating for air.

“Jaune, you have no idea of how proud I am of you for hearing you say that.” Jaune couldn’t help but smile happily at her smile, but her smile faded into a more serious look. “However, that is not what I came here to tell you.

Jaune’s smile faded as he held a look of concern and curiosity. “What?” he said softly.

(End Song)

Before she could answer, they two heard the wind howl as a snowstorm was blowing in from the South behind Pyrrha. The spartan looked back and took a few steps forward to get a better look before a look of anger took over her face. “No. No, not yet, not so soon!”

Jaune could only bear a look of confusion as he looked at his partner with fear. Pyrrha turned around to face him as the storm rapidly approached.

“Jaune, listen to me right now. You need to find me. You are the only one who can save me from her.” She said quickly with a look of determination.

Jaune couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Find her? Save her? What does this all mean. Was...Was Pyrrha really dead?

“Pyrrha, what the hell are you talking about?” Jaune said as he looked at her with a face of worry and fear.

Before she could answer, the wind howled loudly as the snowstorm was literally feet from her. She could only look at him with grit.

“Find me Jaune!!!” She screamed as the storm hit the two. It was soo bad, Jaune could barely see what was right in front of his face. Pyrrha was out of his sight.

“PYRRHA!!!” He screamed.

“FIND ME!!!” He heard her scream back

(Insert Line)

Jaune woke up with a huge gasp from his dream. After breathing for a few seconds to come back to his senses, he noticed he was strapped to a metal table with metal locks on his arms and legs. The room was dark, yet it had an eerie howling sound to it coming from a window that was slightly opened near the ceiling. It’s was when the air blew into the room and crashed into Jaune’s body that he realized something: he wasn’t wearing anything above his waist.

“H-Hello?” Jaune said as he shivered from the cold air. Fortunately, he was still wearing his jeans, but that didn't make the situation too much more comfortable in his mind. He hoped that someone else was here to provide him with answers.

He was going to immediately regret that decision

Suddenly, a lamp turned on right above Jaune, blinding him with the ray of light as he squinted his eyes. It was only after a few seconds of readjusting his vision did he get a really good look around the room he was in. The room had and gothic setting with torches hanged high on the walls providing the light into the room. There were plenty of instruments of torture scattered around the room while the only door that paved the way to freedom was covered with dried up blood, coloring it from its usual brown self. If Jaune were to guess, he just died and went to hell.

“Well, looks like pretty boy is up.” said a burly voice coming from behind Jaune. The knight tried to look around as best as he could, but his position made that a difficult task.

He didn’t have to worry about it, however, as the man walked over to his left side, revealing his face to the knight. Immediately, Jaune’s eyes widened in fear and disgust at the disfigured man. He had gray hair and multiple scars on his face. The two most noticeable were the one that dragged from his hair to his right eye and the giant circular scar on his left cheek that looked like a brand of some sort. He was about 6 ft 2 inches tall and was wearing a green suit that seemed to be a cross between a military officer's uniform and a longcoat.

“Who...who are you?” Jaune asked the man.

The man merely chuckled. “Of course. Where are my manners? My name is Volgin. Welcome, boy, to hell on Remnant.” Volgin said with his arms out wide. “You are currently in my favorite chamber of this magnificent stronghold: the torture chamber.” Jaune started to panic after hearing that. “My master decided to take you here so we can get acquainted with each other as she gets ready for tonight.”

“Your master? Do you mean that women with the white hair and the red eyes?” Jaune asked Volgin.

Volgin grinned evilly. “Well now, this one's smarter than I thought.” He muttered to himself. “Correct, my boy. Though I wouldn’t exactly call her a women. The term I prefer to use…” he leaned in to whisper into Jaune’s ear. “-would be devil.” He said which caused the knight to shiver once again. One thing was for sure, this guy was scary as hell in Jaune’s eyes.

The knight soon recovered as Volgin leaned out of his personal space. “What does she want with me?”

Volgin put his left hand on his chin to mimic a thinking position. “To be honest, I don’t know the answer to that myself. Maybe she wants to kill you, maybe she wants to torture you, maybe she wants you to join our ranks, or maybe you're one of those metahumans she’s after.”

Jaune’s ears perked up at that last one. ‘Metahumans?” he said to himself.

Volgin’s eyes widened at what he just said. “Oh shit. Almost let that one slip. I got to be more careful in the future.” He said as he looked down at Jaune and brought his right gloved hand hovering above his face. “Well, the reason doesn’t really matter right now, what matters is the fun we are going to have.” He said with an evil smile as electricity flowed into his hand. Jaune’s eyes widened in horror.

“You see, boy, my semblance is electrokinesis. I find it very useful for when I want to torture someone.” The hand started to lower near his face. “And if there is one thing I love, it’s hearing someone squeal in pain from my actions.” 

Jaune began to struggle against the locks on the table, but it was no use as he was trapped. “The hand was now a few inches from his face. “So, boy, let's get to know each other on a personal level.” Volgin said as his hand was about to grab the blond’s face and deliver a powerful shock.

Fate seemed to be in Jaune’s favor today, however, as the door to the torture chamber opened to reveal Mercury Black standing on two legs, his prosthetic replaced from his last encounter with Jaune. “Volgin, our queen is ready to meet our guest.”

Hearing that, Volgin growled in annoyance of the timing. “Damn it all. She must have gotten dinner ready sooner than I thought. Very well Mercury, just give me a minute.” Volgin then went over to the walls and pressed a button causing the locks around Jaune’s wrists and ankles to release him.

Jaune tried to get up, but Volgin was much faster than he anticipated as the man grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground. “Leaving so soon? I don’t think so boy.” Volgin chuckled once again as he carried Jaune to a wheelchair with more locks on it. Jaune was strapped in, trapped once again.

The man than rolled him over to Mercury. “He’s all yours. Just remember to bring him back here afterwards. He has an appointment with me.” Volgin said as he laughed evilly.

Mercury took the handles of the wheelchair and smiled back. “Oh don’t worry, Volgin, he’ll be right back here as soon as our mistress is done having a talk with him.” He said as he wheeled Jaune out. Before the door closed, Jaune noticed volgin waving at him with a sinister smile and making a slit neck expression as he slammed the door shut.

(Insert Line)

Mercury wheeled Jaune out through the halls of the place. The corridors of this building seemed to be like a castle of some sort, although the boy couldn’t be too sure. Jaune was still thinking about the dream he had earlier involving Pyrrha. Find her? What the hell did it mean? Ruby saw her die with her own eyes. But then, why did it feel so real?

After a few moments of silence, Mercury decided to speak. “So, how’d you enjoy meeting the colonel?”

That confused Jaune. “Colonel?”

 

Mercury quickly corrected himself. “Oh, I’m sorry, ex-colonel. Volgin once served in the Mistral military forty years ago, but he was dishonorably discharged.”

Jaune shuttered at that. “I think I can tell why.”

Mercury chuckled. “Yeah, old thunderbolt is quite the scary dude. I would pity you, but you threw me half a mile away.” he said with acid in his voice

Jaune scoffed at that. “You deserved it. Your boss didn’t get my message. She came after me anyway.”

Mercury soon grinned. “Oh, I remember that. Our queen brought you back and told us that Cinder looked terrified at you for a few seconds. I hate to admit it, but I’m impressed. I thought that she had nothing to fear. Apparently, I was wrong.”

Jaune was about to reply when the two came across two giant red doors with special symbols traced all over them. The knight gulped as he realized this had to be his destination.

Mercury took notice of Jaune being scared. “Someone’s worried. Can’t say that I blame you. My boss is quite the intimidating one indeed. I wouldn’t be too worried, however, she merely wants to talk to you over dinner.” 

That made Jaune even more nervous as hundreds of questions clouded his mind. Who was this women? What did she want with him? What could possible be in there to eat? Maggot-infested food? Bread with fungus growing on it? Jaune was truly terrified to see what this woman was really like. Yet at the same time, he was really hungry. He knew he would have to eat something soon.

The doors opened on there own. The room was completely devoid of light. Mercury wheeled him Jaune in and put him in the room. That was when he did something Jaune never would have expected: He pressed a button on the back of the wheelchairs that unlocked his locks. Jaune rubbed his hands together to circulate the blood back into them while Mercury walked out of the room. 

“Have a good time, Arc!” He said as the door closed with a loud thud.

For a few seconds, it was quiet. Jaune wondered why Mercury would let him go and if he could escape. Suddenly, torches lit up on the walls on their own as light entered the room. Jaune noticed that he was at a long dining room table that looked to be carved out of a giant ruby. It was glittering red and had an assortment of food on it. It was then that Jaune notice a certain women sitting at the other end of the table. It was the same women who knocked him unconscious earlier.

“Hello.” she says calmly with a dark smirk on her face.

Jaune looked around the room to see if anyone else was around. There were a few doors, but no one else was present. He then decided to reply. “Um...hello? Who are you exactly?”

Salem smiled sinisterly. “I have gone by many names in the past. You may call me Salem, Jaune.”

If Jaune wasn’t weary before, he was now. This didn’t make any sense. Why would she have him brought here and have him not restrained? Did she not expect him to leave? Or was this some sort of trick towards the knight? He stood up from the wheelchair cautiously.

“What is all this?” He asked as he motioned towards the table with the food.

Salem chuckled. “What does it look like, boy? It’s food. Eat up.”

Jaune was still cautious, but he was really hungry. He swore that he hadn’t ate anything for a whole day since he was knocked out. He walked to the table and sat at the end opposite of the grimm queen. He slowly reached forward and grabbed a loaf of bread that was on the table. He ripped a piece of and slowly ate it, trying to find anything unusual about it. He quickly realized that it was perfectly fine and continued to eat it. 

Salem smiled. “See, it’s perfectly fine. I may not be the kindest to humans, but every living thing deserves to eat something.”

Jaune couldn’t hold it in anymore. He had so many questions and he needed answers now. “May I ask where we are right now?”

Salem turned her head a little to the right, her eyes never leaving the boy, before she answered. “You are in my home. This is my castle. I have lived here for centuries ever since mankind took its first steps on this world.”

That answer lead to another question by Jaune. “That long ago? Forgive me for asking, but what are you exactly?” 

Salem laughed at that. “My my, didn’t your mother teach you anything about how to talk to a women? If you really must know-” Salem leaned towards the table. “-I am the queen of the grimm.”

Hearing that, Jaune’s eyes went wide open in shock. There was a grimm queen? And that very being was sitting at a dining room table across from him? Dear god, this could mean a multitude of things. He had to know more.

“If you're the queen, then does that mean the grimm are your...children” He didn’t get to finish as a growl came from behind the women causing the boy to jump. A wolf grimm walked forwards on all four legs and took a seat right by Salem’s chair. It was not a beowulf, but looked like a wolf with a white grimm head and glowing red eyes.

Salem mover her left hand to gently pet the creature. “In a manner of speaking, yes. I create all of the grimm in this world. I hope to cleanse this world of the hunters and huntresses so my children may thrive among the world and claim it as their own.”

Jaune was truly shocked. This made so much sense. During his time at Beacon, he remembered that the professors always said that no one ever really knew where the grimm came from and how they breed. It was a mystery as old as time itself.

And now, Jaune finally knew the answer to a question thought to be impossible to solve. In a way it sounded absurd, yet plausible at the same time. But then, part of that didn't make any sense. If Salem truly intended to have the grimm become the dominant species on the planet, then why would some humans and faunus be so willing to carry out her will? Jaune wanted to ask about that, but he finished eating his bread first.

“I’m sorry, but...this doesn’t make any sense. You say you want your race to thrive, to eliminate all the huntresses, yet you're talking to me right now instead of just killing me. Why? Not to mention, why would some humans be so willing to serve you if they know your true intentions?”

Salem stood up and then motioned Jaune to follow her. “Come with me, it is time I show you something.” 

Jaune hesitated for a minute before standing up to follow the women and her pet to a door to the right of her seat. After following her through a hallway, they came to a balcony where she gave Jaune an order.

“Look over the ledge and tell me what you see.”

Jaune complied and looked into the horizon with a gasp. He was on a giant island with no other buildings on it at all. Around the castle, hundreds of thousands of grimm were surrounding the stronghold. Beowolves, beringuls, deathstalkers, griffons, creeps, this was easily the most grimm Jaune has ever seen all at once.

“I’ve…I’ve never seen so many grimm before.” Jaune said with a hint of being intimidated in his voice.

Salem chuckled again. “Now, tell me what they are doing.”

Jaune looked out and tried to see if the grimm were doing anything special. Alas, they were doing nothing but staring at the tower, waiting for something.

“They aren’t doing anything.” he said to her, waiting to see what she was getting at.

Salem gave him a grin. “Exactly.”

This confused Jaune, so Salem decided to elaborate. “They aren’t killing one another, they aren’t fighting, they are simply living in harmony with one another. Now replace my children with hundreds of thousands of men and women instead. Some will try to fight each other. Some will kill one another. Do you get what I’m saying, Jaune? Mankind aren’t a race worth fighting for, that is why some of them turn to my cause like Cinder.”

Jaune couldn’t help but look sympathetic at the grimm. It was true. Mankind would always fight each other at some point. Jaune had never seen a grimm kill another grimm once in his life. That being said, that didn’t mean mankind wasn't worth fighting for. It was his own species after all.  
“You're trying to turn me to your cause.” He looked at her angrily. “I don’t know why Cinder and her forces joined you, but I will never serve a monster like you willingly. Especially after all that you have done.”

Salem merely laughed at that statement. “It’s sad. You still fight for a race that’s not even your own.”

This caught Jaune’s attention as it briefly snapped him out of his rage. “What did you just say?”

Salem walked behind him to look over the balcony. “Don’t you find it unusual that merely 6 months ago, you were barely able to fight an ursa on your own but then just last night, you would've had killed Cinder Fall had I not intervene.” She than turned around to shoot him a questioning look. “Isn’t that is a little unusual for you to improve so much in such little time?”

Jaune couldn’t lie, she was right. He had no idea what the hell was going on with him. At first he thought it was his semblance, but all these abilities seem to be too much for one semblance. Still, what was she getting at? Jaune could only assume that she was trying to trick him in order to get him to join her. Like hell he will!

“You’ve got some nerve.” he said as he turned around to face the grimm queen with an enraged look. “You orchestrated an attack on Vale, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people, you hurt my friends and killed the women I loved!!! And then you dare say I’m not a human just to try to convince me to join you?!!” He screamed at her and held his hand up with one finger. “Let me tell you something: I will never ever join you after what your apprentice did to Pyrrha and my friends!!!!”

For a few moments, Salem appeared to be taken aback by Jaune’s outrage. The knight was hoping for her to get angry at the fact that he would never join her, but that was when she did the exact opposite of what he expected her to do: she started to laugh. She started to laugh like this was a comedy show. Jaune was getting even more pissed at the fact that she was like this. This sadistic monster who took no pity on anyone she had harmed, not that that surprised Jaune. After a few more seconds, however, she said something Jaune never expected to hear.

“What makes you think she is dead?”

Time froze for a second as Jaune heard those words. What? No, that’s impossible. She’s trying to anger you Jaune. Don’t give her that satisfaction. He thought to himself. Unfortunately, Salem noticed his change in behavior from rage to shock. So she decided to say more.

“You see Jaune, there was another reason why I bought you out here from the dining room. Our guest for the evening was running a little late, so I had to give her time to prepare herself for you.” She said to him as she motioned her eyes to the door leading back into the castle. “She should be there right now.”

Jaune looked at her and then back at the door. He didn’t want to believe her, but something seemed off. Guest? Could she really mean...No! That was impossible! It couldn’t be! But then, why did it feel like it could. Jaune needed to know he started to fast walk, back into the castle halls. The fast walking shifted into jogging, the jogging into running. As he ran down the corridors of the fortress, he started to feel the presence of a new aura. This aura felt really dark and powerful, yet familiar at the same time. It felt like…

No! NO! It can’t be! It’s impossible!!! He frantically though has he ran down the hall and came across the dining room door that Salem took him through earlier.

He put his hand on the knob. 

He opened the door and walked in.

There she was, sitting at the table with where Jaune sat at originally. Ther person Jaune thought was gone from this world forever. The person who inspired him to continue fighting to protect the innocent.

Pyrrha Nikos. With pure red eyes that didn’t even have pupils and a dark purple aura surrounding her. Her hair flowed freely without her circlet. There were pure black lines coming from the outside of her eyes and running down her cheeks as she gave him a wicked smile. [AN; Think of possessed characters from Dragon Ball Xenoverse and apply it to Pyrrha.]

“Hello again, Jaune.” She said to him as she stood up to greet him. She began to walk towards him but Jaune took a step back.

“P-Py-Pyrrha?” Jaune stuttered. Could it really be her? It seemed impossible and possible at the same time.

The spartan chuckled. “Yes, Jaune. It’s me. What’s wrong? Don’t like my new look?” She teased as she walked closer to the point that they were a few feet apart.

Jaune put his hands on his head. “No. No. This is simply a trick. There’s no way your Pyrrha. She’s dead.” Jaune said quickly trying to take it all in.

Pyrrha put her hand on her chest as if Jaune just mocked her. “Why, Jaune! I never thought you would say such a thing to me. Don’t you remember all of the sparring sessions we had? The time we had at the dance? The talk behind the cafeteria before my match?”

Jaune’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. The first two things she mentioned had witnesses but the last thing, that fateful fall day behind the mess hall, it was only the two of them their. Jaune remembered that day so well.

“Do you believe in destiny?” Pyrrha asked him that day.

“Oh my god.” He said as he collapsed on his knees in complete shock. “It...it is you.”

Pyrrha chuckled again as she walked in front of him and knelt down. “Oh Jaune, how I’ve missed you so. Lord Salem has done wonderful things to me and now, she may do them to you too.” She said happily with a malicious voice.

Jaune looked at her pure red eyes. “But, how? How could you be alive? Ruby saw you die with her own eyes.”

“Do you really think the eye is hard to deceive?” Jaune heard from behind him. He was so entranced by the sigh of Pyrrha that he didn’t notice Salem re-enter the dining room with her pet. “Cinder merely fired an arrow imbued with a spell that knocked out Miss Nikos and brought her here. After that, I merely opened her eyes and showed her the truth.” Salem said.

Jaune closed his eyes as anger circulated inside him once again. Pyrrha was here physically, but this wasn’t the girl he fell in love with on the inside of her body. Whatever Salem did to her, Jaune would have answers to this. 

Jaune turned around and quickly walked towards Salem with glowing red eyes once again. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER!!!!” He screamed as he moved to grab her neck. Salem didn’t even need to do anything, this time, as Pyrrha delivered a powerful chop to his neck.

Jaune fell on the floor paralyzed from the devastating attack. His eyes were no longer glowing red as he looked up to see Pyrrha and Salem staring down at him. Pyrrha in particular had a sad look on her face, which Salem noticed instantly.

“Do not worry, Miss Nikos. Mister Arc will be shown the way just like you were showed. It will take a while for him to understand, but we will succeed.” Salem said sinisterly.

Pyrrha nodded to her with a look of understanding. “Very well, my queen. Shall I call Volgin to bring him back to his chambers?”

Salem grinned. “You may. Volgin has been looking forward to this all day.” Salem said as she held her hand out at Jaune once again. “Enjoy your sleep.” she said as she shot black lightning at him again, knocking him unconscious.

(Insert Line)

Afterwards, Salem decided that there was one more thing she needed to do before calling it a night. She walked down the stairs to the lowest level in the castle, enjoying the stronghold that she had lived in for so long. Eventually, she came across a special black metal door with a light purple aura surrounding it and no knob on it. There was a good reason for this, as the door was enchanted to make sure that a certain prisoner could not escape. The man that Salem as known and hated for so long was behind this door.

Salem flickered her hand, opening the door, and walked inside. It was a small cell meant for prisoners, though this one held a special one. Salem closed the door behind her with her hand and looked at the man chained to the wall by two powerful black chains with a purple aura surrounding them. The man had grey hair and had his chest bare with tons of scars all over it, no doubt from the torture he received.

“So, your true queen was a knight all along, Ozpin?” Salem said to him with her arms crossed.

Ozpin was barely able to mutter a response. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Salem bared a look of disappointment as she shook her head. ‘Don’t play dumb with me. We both know you're smarter than that. Although I must say, you have done a great job of keeping him hidden from me for so long.” She then looked at him with a sadistic face. “It matter’s not. Just like your past champions, he will fail you, whether it be by death or joining me.” She soon leaned in so their faces were inches apart from each other. “He will fall just like Summer and miss Nikos.”  
Ozpin looked at her with his calm and stoic look. “I think we both know that he is far beyond those two. He’ll stop you. I have complete faith in him.”

Salem merely sighed as she walked back to the door. “You play a dangerous game, William. You may find yourself on the losing side once again.”

Ozpin decided to speak up. “I was taught that you learn more from losing a game than winning one. I’ve lost plenty of times to you before. This time, it will be much different.”

Salem looked at him with a grin. “We shall see.” And with those words, she closes the door with her magic and walks back to the higher levels of the castle. This was supposed to be her last thing to do for the night, but she decided to visit one last place first before her chambers.

On second lowest floor of the castle, there was a certain room which Salem visited from time to time. This was the trophy room, the place where she held the weapons and fragments of all hunters and huntresses that had fallen by her hand. She entered the room and went past the many prizes that she has collected, including swords, axes, and other weapons of all different sorts. At the end of the hall that was the trophy room, was Salem’s prized possession. Located in a display case was a glowing, golden lasso that was 150 feet long when extended out all the way. 

This was the weapon of Summer Rose, Ozpin’s first champion that Salem killed many years ago. It may seem like an ordinary rope, but his lasso was charmed to be unbreakable and, if used properly, is among the most dangerous and powerful weapons in the world. It also had the ability to get the truth out of intelligent beings, making it have dual uses.

Salem put her hand on the glass case lightly. They will all fall. None of the will live, especially your daughter, Summer. She thought maliciously as she stared at it for a few seconds. She than took her hand back and walked to the exit of the trophy room.

As she opened the door, the torches in the room went out with her presence, leaving only a faint glow left in the room. Salem briefly turned to see the lasso glowing with a golden light. She grinned as she closed the door, leaving the possession on it’s own.

End Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Sisters reunite.
> 
> This was a pretty fun chapter to write. Obviously Volgin was inspired by the character of the same name from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It’s a great game by the way.
> 
> It will be a little while before we see Jaune again. Next time we see him, he and Ozpin will be having a little chat. It will be one filled with drama, alright, and I look forward to writing it. But for now, I will give you guys an exciting few chapters involving the other main characters.
> 
> As always, reviews are welcomed. Please don’t be afraid to be honest with me. I can take it.


	7. Haven City

Chapter 7: Haven City

To say that Yang was in a good mode was an understatement. She had been the happiest she had ever been since the fall of Beacon. Her mother had come back to her and was currently training her, she got a new prosthetic arm that was just as good as the original, maybe even better, and she had made great improvements in fighting.

Currently, she and Raven were sparring in the cave which Raven took her to in the middle of the night two months back. They trained daily now and Yang had been improving greatly. She ha gotten faster, stronger, and while not quite on Raven’s level yet, she was making great progress. Not to mention, it finally felt like her mother was truly there for her. That was probably the thing that made Yang happiest. While their relationship was still not the best, they were bonding. That meant the world to the brawler

Currently, Yang was throwing punches at Raven, trying to wear her down from dodging in order to strike when she was tired. Raven was fast, however, as she nimbly dodged each one. It was when Yang shot the ground next to her and briefly stunned her that Yang delivered a powerful concussive blast to her chest, only for Raven to block it with her hand. The woman smirked as she threw Yang of balance began to swipe with her blade. Yang was now on the defensive as she dodged and parried strikes. Eventually Raven kicked her back against the wall and plunged her sword to where her stomach was. Yang smirked as she sidestepped and grabbed the hilt of the blade and elbowed her with her new arm. She then finished by throwing the blade and delivering a hurricane kick to her mother’s gut, forcing her to breath for a second.

Raven held her stomach as she chuckled. “Well...done.” she said as she huffed. As she regained her breath, the two bowed to each other with honor. “I think that is enough for now. Time for a break.

Yang nodded with a smirk. “What’s wrong? Getting a little rusty there, old timer?” She teased as they walked towards out of the cave. 

The swordsman gave a serious face. “Watch it there, Yang. You have improved greatly, but I’m still your teacher.”

Yang understood that instantly as she submitted to her mother’s gaze. “Of course. My mistake.”

Raven chuckled as she patted her shoulder. “Relax. There is nothing wrong with having a little fun. Just remember not to let your fun side take over in a serious fight.”

Yang smiled at her mother. She had been looking for this women for her entire life, trying to bond with her and have a normal family. Now, it seemed like that dream was finally coming into fruition. If only she could find Ruby and her team again. That would really make her happy.

As the two exited the cave, Raven felt a buzz come from her pocket. She pulled out her scroll to see a message was sent to her.

“Well, looks like Qrow has some news for us.” she said as she opened it. “Looks like your sister just made it to Haven City. We’ll have to go see her.”

Yang perked up at that. She hasn’t seen her sister for sixth months now. It was about time to see her once again. “That will be great. I’ll have to alert dad and let him know that she is safe.”

Raven’s scroll buzzed again, causing the women to groan. “You won’t need to. Turns out, he’s in the city as well.” she said, annoyed by that fact. “He’s not going to be happy to see me.”

Yang sighed. “Well, kidnapping me in the middle of the night without his permission was bound to piss him off.” It was then that she realized something. “Wait, what’s he doing in Haven? Shouldn’t he be helping with the huntsmen in Vale?”

“Well, Ironwood is currently trying to make Atlas look good to the world once again. He can’t do that without some people to vouch for him. Looks like Taiyang is one of the few people who is willing to do so.”

Yang was a little nervous. Her father was always the overprotective one in the family. The fact that he will see his two daughters again will make him quite...emotional. The brawler didn’t really need to see that in public. Still, she would be lying if she said she hasn’t missed the two of them. No complaints from her about this trip.

“Well, when do we set off?

Raven drew her sword “Right now.” She then made a vertical slash in the air, forming a dark red portal for them to travel through. Yang had seen her mother make these portals before, yet has never jumped into one. She was a little nervous, but excited at the same time.

Raven took notice of this as her daughter approached her. “Don’t worry. The first trip is always a little rough, but you’ll get used to it as you take it more.” She soon walked through the portal, disappearing from the area. 

Yang took in a breath of air as she walked through the portal, leaving the area.

(Insert Line)

Yang stumbled as she exited the portal and felt a little wonky. She was in an alley in a city of some sort. Her mother was completely unphased by the trip they had just taken.

“Told you it would be a little rough.” She said calmly as she sheathed her sword. 

Yang panted as she responded. “Yeah. Figured you wouldn’t lie.” She regained her composure as she looked to her mother. “I don’t get it. If your semblance is that you can change into a raven, how did you do that?”

Her mother didn’t look at her as she hid her mask and tied her hair up in a ponytail. “When you're a huntress for 17 years, you still learn many things,some from people that aren’t on the light side of the moon. Let’s just say this was something I learned from one of those kind of people.”

Yang picked up on the fact that her mother didn’t want to talk much about this subject, so she decided to drop it as the two walked out of the alley and into the street. 

Immediately, Yang’s jaw dropped at the sight she was seeing. This was Haven city, the largest city on Remnant. Unlike the city of Vale, Haven was dominated by a skyline of skyscrapers and was drowned with the sounds of cars honking. It was a truly metropolis, much different than the smaller city of Vale. 

“Wow.” she said with an amazed tone. “I’ve never been here before. It’s amazing.”

Raven looked back at her daughter with an eyebrow raised and rolled her eyes. “The novelty wears off soon enough. Come on, we have a few blocks to walk before we reach city hall.”

As the two walked around the city, Yang could hear whispers of people talking about her. They either talked about one of two things: her new arm or her fight in the tournament. This bummed Yang out once again. People never seem to forget anything these days and frankly, it just bought back bad memories.

It was Raven’s turn to pick up on this as she put her hand on her shoulder. “Ignore them. They don’t know what happened. They don’t know the truth.”

Yang looked at her with shock. “What do you mean? You...you actually believe me?”

Raven nodded. “You seemed so confused and scared after it happened. I don’t believe that you did it out of anger. If anything, it seemed that something else was in play.”

Yng was truly taken aback by this. As far as she knew, only Ruby and Weiss believed her side of the story when she attacked Mercury Black. Even her uncle didn’t believe. The fact that her mother honestly believed her sounded a little suspicious however.

“Are you serious, or is this just a way to get on my good side?” she said with a glare.

Raven stopped and turned to face her with a face of anger and sadness. “Believe me Yang, I’ve seen enough in this lifetime to know when something isn’t right. This isn’t because of our relationship.” She gave a sympathetic look to her daughter. “It’s because I can see the truth.”

Yang felt terrible after hearing that as she gave a sad look to her mother. “I’m sorry. It’s just...everything that happened at Beacon pissed me off, I feel that only two people honestly believed me. Even uncle Qrow didn’t believe me.”

Raven scoffed. “Was he drunk when he talked to you?”

Yang cocked her eyebrow. “When is he not drunk?” She said rhetorically.

Raven sighed. “It figures. Your uncle is a great fighter and I love him, but he is an idiot.”

“Hey.” the blonde said annoyed. “He’s not a total fool. He taught me and Ruby a lot.”

Raven asked another question as they continued to walk. “Out of curiosity, what did he say to you when he asked about the tournament?”

It was Yang’s turned to sigh. “He said that I was crazy and that bad things just happened sometimes. I kinda took it to heart.”

Raven clenched her fists. “That’s what I thought he would said. He believes things can just happen for the hell of it. I don’t.” She said as she got a serious tone in her voice. “In my experience, everything happens for a reason, even if we don’t know what that reason is yet.”

Yang took sometime to process that sentence. Was it true? Did everything happen for a reason? Now that she thought about it, it did seem to make more sense. Why would things just happen? Surely something must be a trigger for them to occur. You can’t have an effect without a cause after all.  
“Maybe you're right.” Yang soon smiled at that. “I’ve been angry at so many things in the past couple of months.

“Indeed. You could say you were a little Yangry.” Raven said with a smirk.

Hearing that, the younger woman’s eyes went wide open as she just heard that. She stared at her mother with complete shock. Di-Did you just…?”

The older woman chuckled. “What? You thought you got that from your father?”

Yang was still dumbfounded by this revelation. “Honestly...yeah.” She said as the started to walk again. Yang’s thoughts were now clouded with the idea that her mother loved puns. On one hand, it sounded like she might be trying to get on her good side. On the other hand, her father never really liked her puns much, groaning at everyone one she made. Maybe it was true. Maybe it did come from her mother’s side

Nah. It still sounded unbelievable.

(Insert Line)

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the two huntresses came across city hall. The building was a giant white building with two an east and west wing and a dome at the center. The building had many steps leading up to it’s doors in the center of the city. There were many people surrounding the building, some protesting General Ironwood and some in favor of the man. Both Atlas and Mistralean military forces were trying to hold the crowds back. It looked to be impossible to get in.

“Well, I take it Ironwood doesn’t have too many fans.” Yang said as she looked at the crowds.

Her mother nodded. “It’s certainly no surprise. People fear what they don’t understand after all. Qrow says he’ll meet us in this alley.” She said as she ducked into an alley and checked the time. “He’s always late” She muttered to herself.

Soon enough, a crow cawed as it flew into the alley and transformed into the grey haired huntsman, who landed on the ground. Qrow stood up and smiled.

“Heya, sis. It’s been a while.” He said.

Raven sighed. “It’s only been 4 months, Qrow. It wasn’t that long ago.”  
The drunkard ignored her as he walked towards Yang with a grin. “Hey firecracker. That arm looks good on you.”

Yang grinned. “I’m glad to have it. Thank you for getting it for me.” She said with true happiness

Qrow chuckled at that statement. “Anytime, though you should really be thanking Jimmy. He understood your pain and had it outfitted right away for you. That’s a top of the line WayneTech prosthetic right there.” Qrow leaned in to whisper. “Only took me bout a week to ‘convince’ him.” This caused Yang to chuckle as she knew how her uncle did things

Raven decided to break up the conversation with an interruption. “I believe it’s time we should move. Yang needs to see her sister after all.” She said as she drew her sword.

Qrow grinned. “Awww. She does care about her daughter after all.” He said causing her sister to glare and Yang to groan. She figured she was going to hear a lot about this today. Suffice to say, Raven will be under fire from all sides once they get in the building.

Raven looked back and sliced into the air, making the gateway once again. It was only then that Yang realized something odd about this: why did they meet out here?

This confused Yang. “Wait. If you could have done that the entire time, why didn’t you just make a gateway to the building instantly.”

Raven made the portal with a slice in the air. “Making a gateway costs a lot of my aura. It takes some time before it recharges so I can’t use it to much. Besides, nothing wrong with a little exercise. Not to mention, I’m not looking forward to seeing your father again.” She said as she walked through the portal.

Yang sighed to herself. “Why is it that every brunette I meet have to be antisocial?” She muttered to herself as she walked towards the portal with her uncle in tow the portal.

Qrow sighed. “Raven’s just like that. Don’t expect her to talk very much with your friends. If anything, it will be the second great war between you parents that you’ll witness today.” He said as they walked through the gateway. The portal closed afterwards, leaving the alley to the sounds of cars and people talking. 

(Insert Line)

When the three exited the portal, they found themselves inside of the main hall of the building. The place was filled with marble columns used to hold the building up at the side of the corridors and walls covered with pictures and paintings of the history of Mistral. It was truly a place of computation and antiquity.

Yang decided to speak up. “So...where are they?”

Qrow smiled. “Little eager, aren’t we? There right by the chancellor's office. He and Ironwood are currently discussing politics. In other words, they’re trying to have a cease fire before someone takes the first shot.” Qrow said with a sore tone. Qrow absolutely despised politics, but he knew the importance they played in the role of the world. Didn’t make it any more appealing in his mind.

Raven started walking. “Follow me. Let’s get this over with.”

Yang and Qrow shared a glance before following the women through the corridors of the building. After walking throughout the magnificent structure for about ten minutes, they reached the hall leading to the office.

There, in the middle of the hall, were the three teens. Ruby, Nora, and Ren sitting on a bench, currently thinking to themselves. Yang’s eyes went open as she saw her sister once again. A tear came out of her right eye as she started to run towards them.

“Ruby!!” She shouted happily.

Ruby’s eyes went to the size of dinner plates when she heard her voice. She looked over to the end of the hall where a blonde brawler wearing a grey jacket and an orange tank top was running over to her with a gleeful face.

“Yang? Yang!!!” Ruby shot up with happiness and used her semblance to dash towards her sister and envelop her into a hug. The sisters embraced each other with Ruby crying tears of joy from seeing her sister once again. “I’m so glad your ok.”

Yang chuckled. “Geez, Ruby. You’re the one that went off to Mistral without anyone but your friends. I was safe at home. If anything, I’m glad that you are ok. Oh! By the way...”

BONK*

“OWW!!” Ruby yelped as she realed her head away in pain.

“What were you thinking running off like that?! Don’t you ever do that again. I was so worried.” Yang said angrily as her eyes briefly flashed red.

Ruby rubbed as Nora went in to hug Yang. “We’re so glad to see you again!!! We missed you so much.” It was then that Nora noticed that the blonde had a new weapon with her. “You have a metal arm? That is awesome dude!!”

 

That got a chuckle out of Yang. “I know. My uncle convinced Ironwood to fund a new arm for me. Been practicing with it for two months now. It feels great.”

“Well, we're glad to see that you are doing better.” Ren said with a smile for his friend. Good news was not coming to often these days, so this was something really uplifting to hear.

“Thanks. I’m glad too.” Yang said with a cheeky grin as she looked around. “Where’s vomit boy? Got airsick again?” She said with a laugh.

Unfortunately for Yang, the other three teens were not so happy to answer that question. Nora and Ren were about to say the truth when Ruby gave them a look telling them to let her handle this. The reaper sighed and turn to her sister with tears in her eyes, who was slightly concerned with how her sister was acting.

“Yang, Jaune...Jaune ran.”

Yang froze at hearing those words. What? Jaune ran? No. It can’t be. Not again. Not another friend running away. 

Yang was lost for words hearing that come out of her sister. “What? Why? How could he? He never was one to run?”

Ruby winced at her sister talking like this. Yang had a bad history with people she cared about running away. She was about to find out why he did.

“Yang, I’m going to show you something. Whatever you do, please don’t get angry.”

The older sister got confused at this statement. What did Ruby have to show her. The girl pulled up her right sleeve and to her blouse to reveal a large red scrape on her arm. The wound looked relatively fresh and while her aura did heal it, it may be with her for life.

Yang's eyes went red at seeing that. “Who did it? I’ll make whoever did that wish they never met you Ruby. Just say the word.” Yang said with her temper flaring inside her.  
Ruby covered her arm and put her hand on Yang’s shoulder, giving her a look of sadness. It was then that Yang blinked and her eyes went back to their normal lilac state as they were widened once again in realization. “No. He couldn’t have. Jaune would never-”

Ruby started to cry as she hugged her sister. “He was so broken that night. He felt so bad that he ran and we haven’t seen him since. Yang, I’m worried about him.”

The older girl could do nothing but reciprocate the hug as she held a look of uncertainty. She figured Jaune was having a rough time adjusting with Pyrrha’s demise, but to strike someone he was so close with...that seemed so unlike him. “I’m sure he is fine, Ruby. Jaune can handle himself. He has been getting better and better with training.”

Ren and Nora held sympathetic looks as they went up to the sisters to talk. “We figured he came to Haven, but we haven’t found him yet. Turns out that your father was here and we were told to come here to see him and Ironwood. We’re waiting for them to call us in to talk with the Chancellor of Mistral.”

Nora chimed in. “Apparently he wishes to hear us talk about our perspective during the attack of Beacon.”

This caught Yang’s attention. “He does? What for?”

Ren shrugged. “To be honest, we don’t know ourselves. My guess is to see how bad it was for us. We heard that team SSSN was already here as well speaking to the chancellor.”

Raven and Qrow had came up towards the two. “I’m assuming the reunion is going well?” Qrow asked.

Ren and Nora looked at the two strangers with confusion, hoping for the sisters to explain. Their confusion only grew when Ruby shot up to hug the grey haired man.

“Uncle Qrow!!! And...random women!” Ruby said with a gleeful expression as she looked at the women who held a stoic face.. She leaned towards her uncle to whisper. “Who is this person?”

Yang shook her head. “Well, someone has to do it. Ruby, Nora, Ren, this is Raven Branwen: my mother. Mom, this is my sister, Ruby, and my friends Nora and Ren.”

Raven bowed to Nora and Ren. “It is a pleasure to meet you two.” She then faced Ruby and knelt down to her size. “Hello, Ruby. I was once on the same team as your mother and uncle.”

Ruby looked at the women with uncertainty. She had heard of Raven before; how she left Yang and her father before Summer married Taiyang, how her sister always wanted to find her for answers. She was never sure if she would have ever meet this women up until this point.

Now, here she was. Yang seemed happy to see her and she seemed nice, but something told the young girl that this wasn’t normal. Why would she return now? Was it because of what happened to Yang? Or was it because she needed to return?

“Um...it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Ruby said awkwardly to the women. But really, what else could she say? She just met this woman after she was gone for so long and had very limited experiences with random encounters like this. Although, awkward meetings like these was how she met her teammates in the first place.

Yang observed the awkward meeting in silence. She mentally sighed as she wondered how things would progress. Her mother probably won’t have too good of a relationship with her teammates and friends should she meet them. Then again, she probably wouldn’t be bonding with them too much in the first place regardless of how their lives may have progressed.

Just then, the door to the chancellor's office opened to reveal a blond man in his forties with blue eyes and a tattoo on his right arm. The man stepped out with a smile at seeing his two daughters once again.

“Ruby!! Yang!!” He cried happily as he ran out with open arms.

“DAD!!” The two girls cried as they collide with the man, nearly knocking him on his butt. Taiyang was stronger than that, however, as he hugged the two girls and regained his footing.

“Thank heavens you two are ok. I was so worried about you too.” The man exclaimed in relief due to the fact that his daughters were safe once again. He immediately removed himself when he looked up to see a certain women observing the situation with a sad smile, only to turn from gleeful to angered. “Raven.”

Raven gave a expressionless face as she spoke. “Taiyang.”

The hall soon was filled with tension as the four teens took notice of the tone of the area. Qrow took notice as well and went up to his two nieces to whisper to them.

“Get you friends inside. Ironwood and the chancellor are expecting you two. I’ll watch over the kids.”

The two girls nodded and brought Ren and Nora inside and closed the door to the office as the two former teammates stared each other down. The corridor was now in silence as the three huntsmen stood together.

“How long has it been? 16 years since we were together?” Tai said with while clenching his fists.

Raven nodded. “It has been a while.”

The blond man finally snapped. “A while doesn’t even begin to cover it!”

“Tai, listen very carefully.” Qrow said as he put his hand on his shoulder, but the other man shook it off as he briefly turned to redirect his anger.

“Oh! Don’t worry, you’ll get what’s coming to you soon enough.” He said as he looked at his friend with anger and distrust. He slowly looked back to his former wife. “Two months ago, I come home after a hard day’s work, hoping to relax and see how my daughter is doing, and what do I find? Her bedroom, completely empty, with a raven’s feather on the floor and the window open! How dare you kidnap my daughter!!”

Raven wasn’t even phased as she kept herself while responding “Is that what you really think, Tai? Did you really think she was just going to overcome her disability by herself? She needed someone to be with her, someone to help her recover. You just simply let her sink in her depression so she wouldn’t be in danger!”

Tai got even more pissed at that statement. “Have you not notice what had happened to her? She lost her arm, Raven! She nearly died that night. I’m not willing to have something like that happen to her again!”

Raven started to pace in annoyance. “You can’t be serious. You think that she was safe in Patch? Beacon and Vale have fallen, Tai. I’m surprised that Patch hasn’t suffered a similar fate yet. The world is no longer safe. People are scared and more will suffer if we don’t act.” Raven then walked towards Tai with a serious look. “She needed to get back out here, with her sister, with her allies.” she said with a softer voice, the one a wife uses to talk to her husband when they got into a serious discussion.

Taiyang looked towards the ground as he calmed down, but his anger was still there. “You could have at least told me what you were doing first.”

The women shook her head. “If I did that, you would have done whatever it took to make sure it would have never happened. I couldn’t let you do it.”

Tai looked at her with rage and anguish. This was the women he loved first, the person he hoped to have spend the rest of his life with. When she disappeared that night sixteen years ago, he was devastated. He couldn’t believe that she left him and their daughter without a word.

Now, she was back, and she took her daughter with her back into this sick world. Why did it have to be like this? Where did it all go so wrong?

The man soon turned to his best friend to talk to him. “You knew of this the whole time, didn’t you?” Taiyang asked with a look of sorrow.

Qrow nodded. “Trust me, Tai, it was for the best. I couldn’t stand to see her so broken.” He said with a sympathetic look.

The blonde decided to walk down the corridor away from the two. “We we’re brothers, Qrow. I trusted you to tell me everything.” He said with a disappointed look as he walked off and around the corner.

Qrow sighed as he turned to her sister, who was holding a look of anguish and her arms crossed. “He’ll get over it. It will just take some time.”  
Raven looked up to him keeping the same face on. “I doubt that. I hurted him in more ways than I could have ever imagined.”

Qrow went up to her sister and hugged her for the first time in years. Raven was mildly surprised at first but soon receded the hug to her brother. When they pulled out, Qrow popped out a question.

“Did you tell her why you left yet?”

Raven turned her back to him. “No. If she learns the truth, she’ll never forgive me for what I’ve done.”

Qrow shook his head as he took his flask out to drink. “You do realize that she is smarter than that, right? She’ll figure it out one way or another.”

Raven turned to him with a look of mild displeasure, but soon took a breath in to prevent any more outbursts. It was true, Yang would probably learn why she left soon enough. The real question is how she will react to the news. Raven could only hope that she will understand why she lied to her daughter.

Somehow, that seemed very unlikely.

(Insert Line)

Meanwhile, the four teens that were just outside the office walked to see some familiar faces: four men standing together facing an older man with white hair wearing a black and red robe with the emblem of Mistral on the center where the chest is. He was standing by the three giant windows of his oval office talking to a certain general wearing a white suit and gloves. Immediately the blond member of the team with a monkey tale and a vet covering his chest went up towards the four happily.

“Hey, guys!! You made it! What’s up?” Sun happily exclaimed as he ran up to them to greet the four. It had been far too long since he had last seen these four friends of his and he wanted to catch up with them right away. Of course, the rest of his team was just as eager to see them as the rushed over.

“Really Sun? You're not even going to wait up for the rest of us?” Sage said as he shook his head.

Sun turned around and fired back. “Hey, last time we saw these people, hell came onto Remnant. It’s about time we see them again.” He then turned around to the Yang. “I’m glad to see that you got a new arm. You seem better now.”

Yang smiled. “Yeah. It fits like a charm. Guess you could say that I’m re-armed for battle.” Yang said with a playful grin. What followed was the other teens groaning at that pun.

Nora facepalmed. “Boo! I wish I had an apple to throw at you.” They soon stopped as they heard an older man chuckling behind them. They look to see the man in the red and black robe chuckling at the pun.

“It’s good to see that even in these dark times, humor is not completely lost in this world.” He said with a smile. “Welcome to Haven, you four. I am chancellor Roven, the leader of this kingdom.”

The eight teens immediately stood up straight and tried to look professional in front of the older man. “Thank you chancellor. It is our honor to be here.” Neptune said as calmly as possible.

The chancellor merely put his hand up motioning for him to stop. “No need for introductions, Mr. Vasilias. I believe we already have met earlier. It’s these four that I haven’t had the pleasure to meet yet.

The four teens nodded as they each gave of their name with a bow. “My name is Ruby Rose.” the reaper said as she looked left towards her sister. “Yang Xia-Long.” The ninja boy was next. “Lie Ren.” Lastly was the hammer wielder. “Nora Valkyrie your highness!” Nora said with a salute.

Roven couldn’t help but chuckle at the energetic girl. “I’m pleased to meet all of you. I have watched some of your matches in the tournament. You four are incredibly skilled individuals, but I believe some team members are missing.”

Yang sighed. “It’s true. Weiss Schnee was taken back to Atlas by her father and Blake Belladonna is currently missing. As for team JNPR,” Yang said looking over to Ren and Nora, who shared a look of uncertainty. “-we don’t know Jaune’s position.”

The chancellor acquired the sad look on his face now. “That is unfortunate news. After the death of miss Nikos, I hope to see her team faring better in her honor. It seems that that is not the case, however.”

Ironwood soon made his presence known to the room. “Miss Nikos death was a heavy loss. When her family was informed, we heard how terrible it was for her parents.” Ironwood soon held a look of strength and determination as he regained his composure. “I do have some good news about the remaining members of your team, Miss Rose.”

Ruby and Yang’s face brightened up at that. “What do you have for us?” Ruby asked

Ironwood sighed. “You met Miss Schnee’s older sister, correct?” Ruby and Yang nodded. “A few days ago, she received a message from her father informing her that Weiss was kidnapped by some Faunus. When Winter contacted her, she told her that it was a ruse to escape from Atlas to come here.” 

Yang eyes widened at the word Faunus. “By faunus, do you mean-?”

Ironwood nodded. “Turns out, miss Belladonna helped her escape and steal a ship. While I do not approve with how they acted, we could use more huntsmen to fight. Although, I feel that Mr. Schnee will want his daughter back as soon as possible. I’m unsure how we will solve that issue. They’re on their way now and should be here in a day.” 

Yang couldn’t believe it. Blake was back, and she helped Weiss escape from Atlas. Things seemed to truly be looking better after all. Her mother was back, her sister was safe, and her partner was going to return again. 

Ruby was absolutely gleeful. “That’s great!!” She exclaimed, causing the chancellor to smile warmly. He loved to see the younger people happy at the good things in life. They didn’t deserve to be dragged into this war so early.

Scarlet spoke up at last. “Forgive me for barging into this conversation, but why were we all summoned here exactly?” 

The chancellor took a seat as he and Ironwood shared a look. “To inform you all on what’s been happening and how you can help.”

Ironwood began to speak as the chancellor finished. “As you know, Mistral and Atlas have finally started to come to an alliance in these dark times. The fall of Vale proved my kingdom distrustful at first, but chancellor Roven has given us a chance to make things right.

Ren spoke up with a look of uncertainty. “What exactly happened at the tournament? Why did Atlas drones attack us?”

Ironwood sighed again. “Our flagship was boarded by Roman Torchwick and his female associate. They hacked our drones with a virus that caused them to go rogue. We are now currently working on increasing the drone’s security systems to prevent this from happening again. Atlas would never strike against the other nations in cold blood.”

Most of the eight teens understood that, but Ren and SUn still found it hard to believe . It made perfect sense to the other teens. They felt that Atlas wouldn’t just strike out against its ally for no reason at all. Someone else had to be involved. 

“That makes sense, but how did they hack them so easily?” Sage asked.

“We are still trying to determine that. It seems that our enemies were able relay information to each other and managed turn our weapons against it. Unfortunately, the rest of the world isn’t so willing to hear the details.” He said as Roven stood up to look out the windows of his office out at the angry crowd.

“It’s unfortunate. My people are scared and unsure what to think. I can only hope that we can help them understand what had happened back in Vale. We have to stick together in these dark times after all. I hope that we can clear your name as well miss Xia-Long”

Yang saddened at that look. “I don’t know what you believed happened chancellor, but I swear to the gods that I didn’t strike at him in anger or dominance.” She said honestly earning a look from ironwood. While he did feel bad for what happened to the brawler, he still had his doubts about what had happened.

“I can tell you have nothing but honesty in your voice miss Xia-Long. I believe you. The eye can be deceived easily I’m afraid.” He turned to Ironwood with a disapproving glare. “My colleague was one of those fooled so easily.”

Ironwood looked back with a glare at the man, but soon regained his priority. Regardless of what happened, many huntsmen are still needed to win this fight. We wanted your three teams because we believe that all of you are among the most capable student huntsmen available.

The eight teens were taken aback by that. They had all been training at their respective schools for only a year now. They never thought they would be the best for a while and now, they were told they were so. Either the two older men were desperate, or they were more capable than they thought.

“Wow...thank you for giving us this honor. We’ll do whatever it takes.” Ruby said with determination.  
The chancellor smiled as he turned to face them. “That’s what we needed to hear. With people like you eight fighting, we may be able to restore hope into this world.” He soon turned back to the window. “I can only hope we can solve this issue soon.”

Ironwood walked up to put his hand on the chancellor shoulder. “We will succeed, but we can’t do it without sticking together. Your nation allying with Atlas is the first step towards victory. Your people believe in you, Arthur. They see you as a great leader and will follow your every word. I know you can help this alliance come into fruition.”

Artur looked back to his old friend. “You are quite the leader yourself, James. The people will see you soon enough for what you really-”

!

Suddenly, a sound of a rocket whizzing through the air could be heard outside. The teens got their guard up as James and Arthur looked out the window. Soon the general turned around to tackle his friend out of the way

“GET DOWN!!!” 

*BOOM*

End Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: The battle for Haven City begins
> 
> Dun Dun DUNN!! The first cliffhanger can’t say this will be the only one, more will come soon. As always, reviews are welcomed.
> 
> I feel as though Raven’s portrayal may garner some negative reviews. My goal is to provide a unique story and I hope some people may find Raven interesting. Most fics I’ve read make her a total bitch and I don’t really feel that she should be like that.
> 
> Lastly, I’m happy to announce that a special poll will be coming up soon about how the story will play out. You guys will have a chance to determine an important factor in the story. More details will be coming soon.


	8. Attack on Haven City Part 1

Chapter 8: Attack on Haven City-Part 1

Blake’s eyes opened to the sound humming coming from the ship. It had been five days since she and Weiss have left Atlas and things have been going pretty slow. Turns out, the ship that Thomas had gotten for them was one of the oldest ships available. Blake never really noticed this until now however. One could say this is because she didn’t know how she was going to greet her teammates again after leaving them and she was thinking about them on the way to Atlas. Now that she was with Weiss, though, she realized the unfortunate truth:

This ship was a snail compared to the bulkheads that flew them around Vale.

Weiss was currently piloting the ship steadily as they flew through Mistral. They stopped to rest every night so Weiss wouldn’t crash the transporter. Weiss was a capable pilot, but she was still human and needed sleep. Fortunately, they were able to stop in a town on the border of Mistral to refuel the ship and recuperate. It was even more fortunate that the town had no clue about what happened in about Weiss’s escape. Therefore, they were able to rest peacefully. The only other notable thing to happen was Weiss receiving a call from her older sister. Turns out, she received a call from their father informing her of what happened. Needless to say, she was not pleased with Weiss pulling a stunt like that.

The heiress took notice of her teammate waking up. “Good to see that you're awake. We should arrive in Haven City in about a 15 minutes. It feels great to be out here.” Weiss said with a smile.

Blake chuckled. “So I’ve noticed. You’ve talked about it for the past three days now.”

Weiss sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I couldn’t stand being held against my will anymore. I went to bed each night knowing that you guys were risking your lives everyday. I just hated the feeling of...helplessness.” she exclaimed.

Blake eyes fell to the sound of that word. Helplessness. The mere thought of that word caused her to think of only one thing: Yang. She still didn’t know what she was going to say to her after what happened. She could only imagine the pain that was in her partner every time she thought of her feline friend. How could she ever make it up to her?

Weiss took notice of Blake’s drastic mood swing. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you again, Blake. If anything, she was more worried about what happened to you than her. Running away only made her worry more.”

Blake brought her knees up to her chest and put her arms around them. “I know. I was so worried about Adam going after her again. Seeing her fly in the air after Adam struck her down...” Blake couldn’t finish as she began to cry.

Weiss put her right arm on her friend's shoulder as she flew with one hand. It was fortunate that their was no turbulence and that she was a lefty, otherwise this would be an impossible task to perform. It was still incredibly difficult, but Weiss knew her friend needed it her support.

“Blake. You have to stop thinking about it like that. It’s all in the past now. You have to do your best and keep moving forward.” she said truthfully and caringly.

Blake looked to her and grasped her right hand lightly. “Thank you, Weiss.” She said with a smile and a tear coming down her cheek, but this was a tear of happiness. She was so grateful that she had met her teammates. They truly were a family as they looked out for each other and provided care and support. Blake never really had a family other than the White Fang up until she went to Beacon. Even then, she always felt that they lacked something that her three teammates had: compassion.

Weiss smiled. “You welcome.” She said as she lifted her hand and put it back on the wheel [AN: or whatever it’s called. I’m not a plane expert so I don’t know. Sue me.] and looked off into the horizon. Blake decided to look around outside the cockpit to see the world. It was strange, until now she had never realized how beautiful the world looked from this high up. Being around an ocean of clouds was quite the sight and she couldn’t help but take a moment to admire her surroundings. It was so...peaceful. She felt she could be up here al-

*SCHRIEEEEK!!*

Blake’s eyes shot open to the sight of a Nevermore rising through the clouds up to the level of the ship, a thousand yards away. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to notice them as it flew ahead towards it’s destination, wherever that was.

Weiss took notice. “Well, our luck seems to be holding up. That nevermore doesn’t seem to notice us. Good. This ship was never meant for combat, after all.”

Blake was about to agree when all of the sudden, another nevermore came up along the right side of the first one, shrieking as well. This was an unusual sight. Nevermores were known to be solitary grimm and rarely came into contact with other nevermore. They only interacted for two reasons: mating or attacking. While the former seemed more likely, Blake couldn’t help but have a bad feeling about this.

“Weiss, how far did you say we were from Haven City?” She asked with a look of horror slowly edging on her face.

Weiss rolled her eyes. “I told you 15 minutes, you dolt. In fact, we should...be...landing…” Weiss soon stopped talking as she held a similar look to Blake when she noticed smoke bellowing from the clouds up ahead. Blake also took notice as Weiss began to descend under the clouds quickly

No. NO! Not Again! It can’t be!!! Blake thought frantically as they exited the clouds. As soon as they could stop seeing the color white, both girls saw their worst fears confirmed.

Right ahead of them, still a few good miles away, was a city infested by swarms grimm with buildings on fire and smoke rising above. Haven City was under attack. BLake and Weiss were petrified by the sight. Once again, a major stronghold for mankind and faunus kind was under attack by the grimm. All the memories of the battle of Beacon started swarming their minds as they approached the city.

“No...Oh god...No.” Weiss said silently to herself. “How could this happen again?” Suddenly, she shot up with fear in her eyes. “Ruby!! She’s in the city!! She could be in danger!!”

Blake snapped out of her thoughts as she heard the heiress freak out. She put her arm on her shoulder. “Stay calm, Weiss. Now is not the time to panic.” She said strongly in order to calm the Schnee down. “We’ll find her Weiss. She’s a capable fighter. She’ll be fine.” The faunus said to her friend, although she couldn’t help but worry herself.

Weiss calmed down at that. “You’re right. Sorry about that. But what do we do? We need to land as soon as possible, but their seems to be no places to land outside the city.” She said as she looked for a suitable landing pad.

Blake realized this and immediately knew she had to ask Weiss more about her piloting skills. “Is it possible you can land without one?”

Weiss shook her head. “No. I’m out of practice and need a good solid piece of concrete to land on. Why?”

Blake looked towards the city with determined face. “Cause it looks like we’re going to have to come in hot.” She said as Weiss looked ahead with her, realizing what she meant. Weiss nodded as she took the ship into a higher altitude and flew above the city to where no grimm were present in an attempt to scout out suitable place to land. 

Blake glimpsed a landing pad on top of a mid-size skyscraper, easily a private pad for corporate purposes. She nudged Weiss as she pointed towards the pad. “There’s our landing zone. Take us down.

Weiss nodded. “Got it. Taking her down.” She said like a true pilot as she began her descent towards the building. As they approached the lz, the two heard the sounds of gunshots and blades clashing louden due to the closer they got towards their destination. They was about to land when the two girls hear a loud sound coming from the ship.

*BLAM!!! BOOM!!*

Weiss and Blake yelped as the ship shook sue to the sound. They were hit. The question was by what.

“Weiss...What happened?” Blake said as her friend struggled to regain control of the ship.

“Ugh...Something hit us. It sounded like a gunshot of some sort.” She said as the ship spiraled out of control. “It’s no good. I’m losing her We’re going down!!! Brace for impact!!!!” She yelled as the ship fell sharply.

(Insert Line)

75 minutes earlier…

Yang’s eyes began to open to the faint sounds of a siren going off, the sound of a Grimm attack approaching the city!! Her vision was blurry as she looked up and held her head with her new arm. What happened? One second she was meeting the chancellor with her friends. The next, some explosion occurred. 

“Hey...Kid!” Yang could barely make out coming from an older man. Her uncle, no doubt about it. Soon Qrow’s face came into her blurred vision as he knelt down to check on her. He soon grabbed her hand to her to pull her up. “Come on, get up!! We gotta go!!”

Yang groaned in pain. Her head hurted like hell. “Wha-What happened?” She said as she stood up, her vision returned to her giving the girl the sight of the chancellor's office in flames, a giant hole where the windows once remained. Suddenly, she realized what happened and looked around frantically. “Where’s-?”

Qrow trudged her along. “Ruby’s ok. She’s outside the office down the hall with her friends. None of them are seriously hurt, just a few burns and cuts at most. You alright?” Qrow asked softly.

Yang nodded. “I’ve got one hell of a headache, but I’ll be ok. But seriously, what happened?” She said as the two ran out the door

“Two words: White Fang. They attacked the chancellor’s office from a nearby rooftop. Jimmy’ with him, but it’s not looking good. ” Qrow said quickly to bring his niece up to speed on the situation.” 

Soon the two ran towards the center stairwell of the building where the other teens were taking cover in the west wing. Unfortunately, they came across a roadblock. White Fang soldiers were around the corner.

The leader, a faunus with tiger ears and a tail, pointed them out to the rest of her squad. “Kill them! Adam want’s no humans to survive!” With that, the squad charged with swords ready and gunners in the back.

Qrow couldn’t help but look to her niece and smile. “Let’s see what you can do, firecracker.” He said as he drew his sword. 

Yang smirked as she activated her gauntlets. “Bring them on. I’ll handle the swordsmen.” She said as she charged head-first into the fight. She learned not to be so reckless when she trained with her mother, but she knew damn well these guys wouldn’t stand a chance against her.

True to her words, Yang plowed into the group, punching away at each grunt, not taking a single hit. The gunners began to fire as Qrow jumped towards them and spun his blade to block their bullets. He soon slashed at them, knocking them all out of the way like ragdolls.

After a minute, the two continued to down hall to where the others were located in the senate chamber. When they arrived, it looked like a giant room with plenty of cushiony chairs for the senate to meet. The only problem was that Ruby and the others were nowhere to be seen.

Yang started to panic. “Ruby? Are you here?!!” She said as she looked around frantically. Qrow simply went behind the stand where the spokesmen of the senate sits. When Yang followed, she saw him feeling all over the wall as if he was looking for something. “What are you doing?”

“Searching for a switch. Should be right about...here!” He said as he pushed a part of the walk in revealing itself as a secret mechanism and opening a doorway in the wall to an elevator. 

Yang was amazed at this sight, she always read about secret passages in old locations, but never would have expected one here. “Where will this lead us to?” She asked as the two went in and closed the door.

“Since the formation of Mistral, the building was designed to have a panic room under the building with two entrances: one in the chancellor’s office and one in the senate’s meeting place. We would have taken the other one, but the elevator was damaged in the explosion.” Qrow said as they went down.”

“So, everyone else is already down here?” Yang asked.

Qrow nodded. “It comes equipped with med-bays and T.V.s broadcasting footage from cameras all over the city. Should be the safest place possible for the most important man in the kingdom.”

Yang frowned at that. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Qrow sighed. “Ruby and your friends are down there along with Jimmy, Taiyang, and the chancellor. Raven is currently trying to gather intel throughout the city. Her ability makes her the perfect candidate for that. Your father had to escort the chancellor with Jimmy and is currently with the two of them right now along with the others.” 

Yang sighed mentally in relief, but then another question popped into her mind. “You just said we had televisions in this bunker. Why would mom need to get intel?”

“Sometimes, the best intel is the one gathered by a huntsmen themselves. It’s more dangerous, but it can also be more effective. Besides, Raven was always good at stealth. She’ll be fine.” He said confidently as the elevator stopped and the door opened.

The two stepped out to see a wall with hundreds of T.V.s broadcasting footage from all over the city from cameras. It looked as though this place could be straight out of a spy movie. There were multiple doors leading to medbays for multiple people. Ruby, Sun, Neptune, Ren, and Scarlet were watching the footage from all over the city. It was a horrible sight, seeing the gorgeous metropolis in such a vulnerable state with Grimm and the White Fang running amok. Soldiers and huntsmen were fighting, but it was not looking too great for the city.

Yang turned around to see her sister and uncle alright. “Yang!!” She cried as she used her semblance to charge into her arms. Fortunately Yang was used to her sister performing this action, so she caught her in a hug. “Are you ok? You were unconscious for a little bit. Uncle Qrow stood back to watch you so we wouldn’t attract to much attention.

Yang held her sister close. “I’m fine, Ruby. I got a headache, but I have had worst.” She soon turned her attention to the rest of the group. “Where’s Nora and Sage?”

“They’re getting their wounds treated. Both got some nasty burns and cuts from the debris. Their auras protected them, but the doctors wanted to be sure they would be fine.” Neptune said.

“And Roven?” Yang asked.

The teens looked at each glanced at each other, wondering who would break the news. Finally, Ruby spoke up. “He’s in critical condition. Despite Ironwood’s actions, he got hit pretty badly. It’s still not clear if he will survive his wounds.

Yang clenched her metal fist in anger and slammed it into a wall, leaving a dent in the metal. “God dammit!!! Should have known it was too good to be true! It’s going to be Beacon all over again!” 

Qrow walked up to her and put his hand on her. “Relax, kiddo. Jimmy’s forces are still here to provide support. He also managed to contact the Mistral military. We just have to hold them off until they arrive.” As he said that, Ironwood and Taiyang came out of the medbay Roven was currently stationed at. Their looks told everyone else that Roven was not in a solid condition. “Jimmy, what’s his status?” He asked.

The general sighed with his eyes downcasted. “His condition is critical. Doctors are doing the best that they can, but they fear he will not make it.” The tone of the room changed as the huntsmen took in the news of the tragedy that occurred. Haven was a war zone, people were in danger, and the one man who they couldn’t afford to lose was dying. This day really couldn’t get much worse.

After a few seconds of silence, Sun spoke up. “So, what do you want us to do?”

Ironwood looked up to the huntsmen in the room. “You are huntsmen, protectors of the innocent and of this world. This city needs you all more now than ever. Are you all up to the task?”

That may as well have been rhetorical question, for every man and women in the room got their weapons out to fight. They were all ready to strike back.

“General, we live for that purpose.” Ruby said with her scythe out.

Ironwood nodded with a smirk. “All right then, you friends should be all patched up and ready for battle. Mistral military should be here to provide support soon. Until then, it’s up to all of you to protect the people.”

Just then, Nora and Sage came out of their respective med-bays all ready to get back into battle themselves. Nora, of course, was not to happy to be attacked and was ready to break some legs. 

“I heard everything. What are we waiting for?” She said with a grin like she was a mad women. This of course scared team SSSn since they were not used to this. Scarlet, in particular, was very intimidated by her as he leaned in to whisper in Ren’s ear.

“Mate, your teammate is a total loony.” He said quietly.

Ren merely smirked at that. “You haven’t seen anything yet.” He said with his normal voice.

“Alright, Raven is currently gathering intel. I want all of you to get up there and rain hell on the Grimm and those terrorists. I will stay here to monitor the battle and order my troops to provide support.”

“You got it!” Yang said as she readied herself and ran to the elevator with everyone else. Fortunately, the elevator could hold up to 12 people, so everyone could fit inside.” 

The door closed, leaving the others to their thoughts as the machine raised itself back to the surface. Taiyang stood by his daughters to talk to them quickly. “You two be careful. Don’t worry. Your papa ain’t going to let anything happen to you two.”

Ruby groaned as Yang rolled her eyes. “Dad, we’ve fought these guys before. We’re perfectly capable of combat.” Yang said.

“Sorry Yang, but absolutely not. I haven’t seen you two in so long. I’m not prepared to lose either of you two again.” Tai said sternly, clearly showing his concern for his daughters.

Qrow shook his head. “Tai, this is ridiculous. They are here with their friends and we know damn well that they are capable of handling their own in a fight. Besides, Raven has something else in mind for us old dogs.” He said causing Taiyang’s eyes to widen.

“What are you talking about?” the blonde said as they returned to the surface. They all ran out to return to the halls to get outside.

“She didn’t give me much in the name of details, but apparently the White Fang have taken over some vantage points throughout the city and are trying to snipe the soldiers and civilians. She wants us to take them back.” Qrow said.

This caused Taiyang to growl internally. Dammit Raven. You want Yang to fight on her own without my protection. Well, that isn’t going to happen. He said mentally to himself as the ten ran to the entrance of the building. They opened the doors to reach the outside and were greeted to a horrific sight.

Haven City was falling. There were griffons flying all over, trying to pick off prey for themselves while destroying all they could. Buildings were on fire, screams of innocent people took up the atmosphere of the city. If chaos could be described with a picture, this would be a perfect chance to take it.

The huntsmen ran up to the Atlas troops who were doing there best to hold the grimm back. It was a losing battle, however, as there were too many for normal soldiers to handle with their guns. Paladins and knights were scrapped to assure the public that what happened at Beacon would never happen again. That also meant less firepower for the army, unfortunately, which they could really need at the moment.

The huntsmen ran up to the commander of the group, who was wearing red on his armor rather than standard blue. The commander looked somewhat relieved at some reinforcements arriving at last. “Thank Oum. Some huntsmen.” He said

Taiyang took the initiative of the conversation. “What’s going on with the battle?”

“Our men are doing the best we can to defend the perimeter of this building. Unfortunately, that means we can’t afford to send anyone off to search for civilians. We already lost a lot of good men.” The commander said.

Qrow spoke up next. “Ironwood is in the building. He says that we need to hold out until the Mistral army arrives. What can we do until then?”

The commander went straight to the point. “Son, I don’t care what you do as long as you do your job and make sure that no more men or women die today. Now get going! People need you all right now!!” The commander shouted in a stern voice.

The two older men and the eight teens nodded as they got ready to fight. “My team will handle the east and the south. You four take the north and the west.” Sun said as his team ran off to protect the perimeter.

“Got it!” Ruby shouted as her sister and new teammates prepared for battle. “Ren. Nora. Take the west. Yang. You are with me. If it isn’t friendly, don’t hesitate to take it down.” She said to her family and friends. Taiyang and Qrow soon looked each other in the eye, a conversation in stares as they nodded. Qrow went off to help with team SSSN. Taiyang armed his gauntlets, similar to his elder daughter's weaponry, except for two distinct differences. One: they were mainly brown instead of gold and two: they had two gatling guns ready to be spun up and reign down upon the monsters attacking the city.

“Alright, girls let’s show these monsters why they made a big mistake coming here!” He shouted as his guns spun up.

Ruby and Yang looked at each other and grinned with their weapons ready for combat. “I hope your ready for this, sis.” Ruby said.

Yang chuckled at that. “Trust me, Ruby. Raven taught me a few new things over the two months I’ve been training. Let’s go!!” Yang cried as she rushed into battle.

Immediately, Ruby noticed how much faster Yang was than the last time she saw her fight. She dashed around the battlefield, pummeling any Grimm that had gotten in her way. The reaper was agast by her elder sibling’s new strength and speed. She looked like a yellow rocket smashing through any Grimm they saw. 

Taiyang was just as surprised as his daughter when seeing Yang in action. While he was still worried about her, he couldn’t help but feel pride in seeing Yang come back from her depression stronger than ever before. Maybe he was a little harsh on Raven after all. If she was capable of helping her get back on her feet, then maybe she could do more. Than again, she did kidnap her without his permission…

“The hell you doing man?!! Shoot!!!” said a soldier, snapping Taiyang out of his thoughts. He realised he was still in combat and it was time to strike. 

“Sorry!!” Taiyang said sheepishly as he fired his guns and mowed down the Creeps and ursais in front of him. He seemed to be hitting lots of them, but more continued to pool into the city. It was fortunate that they were not the only huntsmen, others were around doing their best to fight. Still though, it appeared to be losing battle. The older man hoped that they could hold them off until reinforcements arrive.

Meanwhile, Qrow was helping team SSSN defend the east and south sides of the hall from the Grimm. Sun and Neptune had taken the East while Sage and Scarlet took the south end. They were dealing with creeps and some beringels. Fortunately, Qrow was there to provide support, as he saved Scarlet from getting blindsided from a beringel by decapitating it with his sword.

“Whew! Thank’s mate.” Scarlet said as he got fired his pistol at the incoming grimm.

Qrow smirked. “Don’t thank me yet, kid. We got a helluva a lot of grimm to deal with first before thanks are in order. So fight back harder!” He said as he jumped off to help Sun and Neptune.

As Ruby and Yang did their best to fight, they soon held the line by firing out at the grimm with their guns along with anyone else available. They must have been fighting for twenty minutes straight, supplies were clearly running low.

Fortune seemed to favor them today, however, as they Grimm started to fall back, their numbers starting to dwindle from their all out assault. “Their numbers are beginning to dwindle!! We may have a chance to win!!” A soldier shouted as the grimm started to come in smaller numbers, making it easier for the military to hold the line. Soon, team SSSN and NR were able to regroup with the commander along with the older huntsmen and the sisters.

“Hell of a job out there. I’m not sure if we would have been able to last without you guys.” The commander said breathing heavily, clearly tired from the fight.

Ruby was tired herself. “No *huff* problem sir. *huff* All in a day's work.” she said slightly pooped from the battle.

The commander soon got a radio call from the transmitter on his chest. He tuned in and briefly listened before turning back to the huntsmen. “We have a problem. Seems that one of my units is pinned down from snipers in Midtown. I also have been told that there are some hostages held in the Wayne Enterprises building by the White Fang. Any chance at helping us out anymore?” He asked.

Yang spoke up. “Absolutely, but you sure you don’t need any more help? The grimm could counter attack any minute now.”

Sun spoke next. “My team will stay to help. You six could go deal with those problems. Wayne Enterprises is right in Midtown so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

The members of team RWBY and JNPR nodded before looking to the adults for support. Qrow’s scroll vibrated, causing him to take it out of his pocket to read the message he received. “Raven just found the snipers. She wants you and me to help her.” He said to Taiyang.

Taiyang fumed at that news being broken. “Absolutely not! I will not let my daughters go off with their friends against terrorists. They’re basically asking those psychos to kill them!” Taiyang said.

Qrow sighed. “You mean to tell me you’re ok with them fighting monsters but not some crazy activists. Come on! You’re smarter than that Tai! Besides, I think you may be already too late to do anything.” Qrow added with a smirk.

Tai wondered what he meant and quickly turned around, only to find the four already gone. Tai wore a look of discontent and annoyance. “Sometimes, I really hate you Qrow.”

Qrow chuckled. “Love you too. Let’s go. Raven gave me a rendezvous point.” He said as he patted Tai on the shoulder and jumped away. Taiyang reluctantly followed, knowing full well that it was going to be a long day with his inlaw.

(Insert Line)

Today was not going the way Wallace Keefe thought it would go.

He was hoping for a simple day where all he was doing was handling business calls from other companies working with Wayne Enterprises and hope to do whatever she could to support the good people of this world, including his wife and beautiful daughter.. He was not expecting more traffic due to protest of the Atlas military. He was not expecting the city hall to be blown up by a missile. He was not expecting grimm to attack Haven City.

And he surely wasn’t expecting the White Fang to be infiltrating Wayne Enterprises and taking hostages.

It happened so fast that it seemed like that they planned it weeks ahead of schedule. White Fang soldiers walked into the building, taking hostages on the 26th and 28th floors, disabling the power and the elevators, and watching the stairs so no one else could escape from them. Fortunately, it was a Sunday so not many people were working, but there was still a considerable amount of people being held hostage. Wallace was being among those held on the 28th floor, trapped one of the corners by members of the terrorist group, each holding deadly weapons. The leader of this group, a faunus with wolf ears wearing a full face mask, was talking to a certain Faunus on the radio.

“Hostages secure, sir. We’ll soon have Wayne paying the lien right away.” He said with a chuckle.

“Excellent work, Beta.” Said Adam Taurus on the other end of the radio. “When the old man finds out that his building is under White Fang control, he’ll have to pay the ransom.” Suddenly, Beta could hear one of Taurus’s men calling to him. After hearing some mumbling for few seconds, the leader responded. “Well now, it seems that an old acquaintance of mine has just arrived. I think we are long overdue for a reunion. I leave it to you to handle everything.”

“Consider it done.” Beta said confidently as he put the radio down. He walked over to the hostages with a grin hidden under his mask.

“Please...you don’t need to do this. Wayne Enterprise has never held and discrimination against the Faunus.” Said a young woman nervously.

Beta merely chuckled. “Maybe not, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that Wayne Enterprises is a human company ran by a man. That automatically gives us the right to do this.” 

Wallace got angry and didn’t bother to hide it. “Listen here you extremist. You're making a huge mistake by doing this. Vale was one thing, but attacking Haven is a whole nother story! When the Mistral army arrives, you’ll be…”

Wallace went quiet after feeling a cold blade against his neck, Beta’s knife had its pointed end on him. “You oughta be grateful, human! We need you to live so we can get the money. Talk out of place again and we will send you to whatever god you believe in right away I assure you!” Beta said sternly causing Wallace to back down and take a seat against the wall defeated.

Suddenly, the radio activated, giving off the sound of gunfire and men getting hurt on the other end. A voice tried to contact the leader but was cut off abruptly. “Sir, we have-UUGHH!!”

Beta immediately picked up the radio to respond. “Gamma squad, respond. Please respond!” Beta ordered to no avail. He groaned as the sound of gunshots and men being thrown increased rapidly. The faunus realised that they were being attacked, possibly by some huntsmen. “There coming up here. I want all the stairways covered and guns on the hostages right now!” He yelled. His man responded quickly as the readied their weapons at the doors to the stairwells.

For a few seconds, it became as quiet as an abandoned and derelict building. The extremists were edging around nervously, wondering when their enemies were going to strike. Suddenly, one of the stairwell doors opened slowly and with a loud creaking sound, prompting everyone to start shooting at it right away. Fter a few seconds, they realised that there was no one there and that they were wasting ammo, yet the feeling of nervousness didn’t leave them.

*BOOM*

The doors to the elevator blasted open with a blonde female huntsmen wearing to gauntlets taking the charge with a smirk of pure exhilaration. She fired off her shells one by on, knocking down soldiers shooting at her.

“Take her down!!” Beta said only for two more huntsmen to jump in from the stairwell that the grunts originally fired at. They were so caught up with Yan’s entrance, they failed to remember that Ruby and Ren were present as well. It soon turned into an absolute shutdown as the students easily overpowered grunts left and right. It became so bad, that Beta grabbed the nearby women that begged earlier by the scruff of her neck and held one of his two knifes by her throat.

“Enough!! One more move, and her blood splatters all over the place and onto your hands!” He said with intimidation. It possibly would have worked too, if he hadn’t stood right next to the window of the building.

Ruby smirked now as she noticed the lieutenant's position. “I don’t think so. After all, a valkyrie is always ready to protect the innocent.”

This confused Beta until he heard a boom coming from behind him. He turned his head only to see a girl flying on her hammer straight towards him. Before he could react, Nora flipped through the air and brought her hammer down on the Beta breaking through the window in progress. She hit him lightly enough just to knocking him through a few walls and managed to get the young women safely out of harm's way. 

“Valkyrie airlines special butt kick deliver complete!” Nora said happily as the other three helped the hostages get to safety.

Wallace spoke up. “We owe you kids our lives. You really saved us back there.” he said as they ran down the stairs.”

Yang smiled as she lead them to safety. “No problem sir. Guess you can say Nora really brought the hammer down.” Yang said causing her teammates to groan and the citizens to look confused.

A few minutes later, Wayne tower was fully rid of the White Fang as the four young huntsmen came out to the ground level call in to the commander with her scroll “The hostages are safe sir.”

“Good work. I’m sending in a squad to help secure the area. Stand by for further orders.” The commander said as he hung up.

Ruby put her scroll away as the four regrouped. It was surprisingly quiet in this area and there were barely any grimm around to deal with. It was a much needed break from the war currently going on.

Suddenly, the sound of an airship could be heard, prompting the four to ok around for it. Nora pointed up towards the sky down the street.. “Look!” she said.

The other three members looked up towards the end of the avenue to see a small craft coming in to land on a nearby skyscraper. The craft didn’t appear to have any weapons on board, so that marked it off as a non-military ship.

“Who's trying to fly a ship in now?” Ren asked. “It’s not military. It almost looks like a ship meant for transporting supplies.” He looked over to Nora who shrugged and then Yang and Ruby, who were staring absentmindedly at it.

For the sisters, they had a pretty good idea at who was on board that vessel. Ruby was the first to speak. “Yang, you thinking…”

 

Yang simply gave a small smile. “Yeah. I think it’s them.” This caused excitement to build up in Ruby’s face as she was about to jump for joy.

*BLAM* 

Immediately the four looked up to see the ship spinning around out of control, it’s tail rotor on fire due to a gunshot. Horror seeped on to their faces as the ship flew away from the building and out of sight.

“NOOOO!!” Yang cried as she heard the ship crash and soon took off. Ruby, Nora, and Ren quickly followed. Blake! Weiss! Please be alive. PLEASE BE ALIVE!!! Yang thought to herself frantically as she ran off to find them.

(Insert Line)

Blake’s eyes opened groggily, as she tried to get up and look around. The ship was a complete wreck from the crash, no way it would fly again. It was a good thing they were in Haven City now so they wouldn’t need it anymore. If she ever saw that kid again, she would have to thank him for all that he has done.

Blake looked over to the pilot’s seat to see Weiss unconscious from the crash, still strapped into the chair keeping her safe for the most part. “W-Weiss…” Bake said.

No response

Weiss reached out and shook her, trying to get a response. “Hey...Weiss!”

The heiress jerked up in response. She started to breath heavily as she looked around frantically. “Hey. Hey! It’s alright. We’re fine.” Blake said to calm her down.

Weiss calmed down and unbuckled herself. As she tried to stand however, she yelped. Blake looked down to see a decent shard of glass lodged into her right leg. Blake got up and held her up by putting Weiss’s arm around her neck. 

“Thanks.” the heiress said. “You alright?”

“I’m fine. Come on. We have to get out of here.” Blake said as she helped her up and walked toward the ship’s doors. Blake put her right arm on the door, infused it with aura, and pulled the stuck door open.

They had landed in a park located in the center of Midtown. There was a broken gazebo from the crash and plenty of trees knocked over due to the ship’s descent. The ship was nose first into the ground with the rear stick in the air. All in all, it wasn’t to bad of a crash. There were no grimm or civilians nearby, so the park must have been deserted.

Blake helped Weiss of the ship and quickly walked her away from the fires of the crash. She planned to find some shelter to bring Weiss to and then seek help immediately. The only problem was that a certain male voice called out to her after they got a few feet away from the crash.

“Hello, my darling.”

Blake froze. It couldn’t be. Not here. Not now. There was no way that he should be here. Blake slowly turned around back to the crash. On top of the wreckage, standing on the tail gracefully, was him. Blake eyes widened in horror as Weiss looked on in shock.

“Adam.”

End Chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Team RWBY reunites.
> 
> Another cliffhanger. I know. I’m a jerk. This chapter took a long time to complete and for that, I apologize. I’ve been dealing with school work and procrastination the entire time. I hope you guys enjoy the result.
> 
> Reviews are always welcomed. I look forward to hearing them.


	9. Attack on Haven City: Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum (RIP). Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joel Shuster and is owned by DC Comics.

Chapter 9: Attack on Haven City: part 2

As Yang and the others arrived at the area where Blake and Weiss crashed, they came across a giant park that looked like a miniature forest inside of the city. Black smoke was bellowing from the area, indicating they were somewhere nearby.

The brawler took the lead. “All right. They have to be where the smoke is coming from. We need to move right now.” Before she could run off, Ruby held her back, causing the older girl to get annoyed. “Ruby, what are you doing?!”

“Yang, hold on for a minute and think. They didn’t just crash, they got shot down. I get the feeling that we won’t be the only ones looking for them. We need to play it smart.” Ruby said taking her role as leader seriously. 

Yang realized what she was doing and took a deep breath. “You’re right. Sorry, sis. What’s the plan?”

Ruby thought for a second before she voiced her idea. “Ren, take the treeline. We need someone above. 

The ninja nodded as he quickly ran up to a tree and jumped upwards into the leaves.

“Nora, go around and approach the sight from the south. Try to be discreet about it.” 

“You got it.” Nora said with a salute as she went off.

Ruby looked to her sister and smiled, trying to comfort her. “Well go together. They’ll be alright. We know the two of them are capable of holding their own in a fight.” Ruby said in an attempt to lessen hers sister’s worry’s.

Yang looked at Ruby and flashed a small smile. “I hope your right. Well then what are we waiting for. Team RWBY needs to be together again.” She said as she loaded her gauntlets and ran off with her sister in tow.

(Insert Line)

If there was one thing flowing through Blake Belladonna’s mind right now, it was pure terror. This shouldn’t be happening. Adam shouldn’t be here! How could he have known that they were coming? As far as she knew, she hadn’t tipped off anyone about her trip to Atlas to break Weiss out of her home. How?! Just how?! Why in the name of the gods was she cursed with this terrible luck. One thing was for sure, she wouldn’t let Weiss suffer the same, or a worse, fate than Yang did when she encountered her old mentor.

Adam noticed the nervousness of the two girls as he grinned like a devil ready to torture his new prisoners. “It’s been far too long, darling. I’m honestly surprised by your recent actions. Traveling to Atlas, breaking out the daughter of our greatest enemy and pretending to hold her hostage, hijacking a ship, and bringing her right to me. Frankly, I’m disappointed with how reckless you have become since our last encounter. That being said, I’m also grateful. It means that I can send her head to her father.” Adam said as he moved his right hand to the hilt of his sword.

“How? How did you know?” Blake asked as she slowly backed away.

“Did you really think the White Fang would only have influence in one kingdom? I have operatives all over Remnant blending in with the very people we swore as our enemies. Even in Atlas, where faunus discrimination is at it’s strongest, my men have mingled with the monsters that forced our hands. It wasn’t hard for one of my men to notice a certain traitor helping a Schnee out of her home and “kidnapping” her to this city. You certainly have been losing your touch, darling.” Adam explained.

Weiss looked nervous as she whispered to Blake. “I take it that you know him?” She asked quietly.

“Yes. He was my mentor in the White Fang. He is also their leader and the one who took Yang’s arm.” Blake said with venom dripping of the last part of that statement.

Adam chuckled darkly. “That reminds me, how is your blond friend? Has she even seen you since that night?” He said with a smirk. 

Blake growled. “You monster!!! How could you? She never had any problem with the faunus whatsoever. And you just ruined her life like it was nothing!” Blake said.

“Because she is nothing!!!!” Adam roared. “You disgust me, Blake, giving everything that we accomplished together up just so you could live among them, to try and be like them! You’re a disgrace to your own kind!!!” He soon readied himself to move in and strike the two girls.

Blake couldn’t take it. She had to act fast and get Weiss out of here. She was not in fighting condition and Adam was far too powerful to fight on her own. Thinking quickly, she devised a plan to get them to safety. She would use her semblance and carry Weiss out of harm's way and find help. It was a simple plan, but it could easily work.

“Well, if you insist on fighting you brothers and sisters, I guess you leave me no choice.” Adam said. He then lunged at the two with incredible speed and sliced horizontally with Wilt. Their bodies were sliced in half as they flew in the air for a second before disintegrating.

Adam realised Blake must have used her semblance like at Beacon. He was merciful enough to let her go that day. This time, he would not be so kind. He looked around to see where the two of them went. The only problem was that they were out of sight.

Not too far away, Blake and Weiss managed to hide behind a boulder in a clearing where a small artificial lake was as the faunus looked over her partners wound. Her aura was healing it up but the glass shard needed to be taken out.

Blake looked to her friend. “I’m going to have to pull it out. I’d cover your mouth, it’s probably going to hurt.”

Weiss nodded nervously as she put her hand by her mouth in order to muffle herself. “Do it.” She whispered before she bit her hand.

Blake grabbed the shard and pulled with all of her strength. The pain was almost unbearable for the heiress, but she managed to stay quiet enough as her teammate pulled the bloody shard out. She then placed it down gently and tried to wrap the wound with some bandages she held in her jacket.

“So, what’s the plan?” Weiss asked.

“Adam’s too powerful to take on right now, especially with you injured like this. No offense, but you aren’t in the best condition to fight.” Blake said as she looked around warily.

Weiss scoffed. “Don’t worry. My auras already healing it up nicely. I can fight.”

Blake looked at her with a completely serious look. “Weiss this is different. He’s no ordinary fighter. If we don’t get out of here we could both be killed and I’m not willing to risk another teammate getting hurt because of me.” Before Weiss could respond, they heard the familiar voice of the bull in the park.

“You can’t hide forever, Blake. I’ll find you and you’ll pay for your betrayal!” Adam yelled as he looked around for the two. The faunus and heiress ducked out of sight behind the boulder as Adam came into view with his sword out, ready to kill.

They both knew they couldn’t stay. They had to go and find help. Slowly and carefully, the two stayed low and tried to crawl away and back into the forest out of sight. Unfortunately, Weiss happened to put her hand on a twig which caused it to snap.

Adam immediately looked towards the sound and leaped up over the boulder with his sword in hand. He saw the two hiding and lunged at them with a slash. Blake and Weiss were barely able to get out of the way in time as they jumped and rolled. They were now separated by crazy extremist who was ready to end this. 

Weiss attempted to use her glyphs in order to launch herself towards Adam with blistering speed. The faunus merely sidestepped her and did a hurricane kick sending her tumbling towards Blake.

“So this is the best a Schnee can do? I’m not impressed.” Adam taunted.

Weiss looked to Blake, who nodded as they both stood up to fight. “Checkmate.” Weiss said as the two charged forward and liced at Adamn witth their swords. Adam was having a little trouble deflecting their attacks, but he honestly found it to be an enjoyable challenge. He soon locked with both their blades and countered them by throwing them off balance and slicing them with his sword. It was fortunate that their auras stood up to the attack, but clearly they wouldn’t be able to take much more. All they merely did was knock him back by the trees.

Blake regained her footing and soon used her speed to fire at Adam with Gambol Shroud at all angles. Adam wasn’t even phased as he absorbed the bullets, causing his hair to glow red.

“Did you learn nothing from our last encounter, my love?” He said as he cut her off and began his assault. Blake may be fast, but Adam was clearly faster and soon overwhelmed her with his fury. As she got knocked back, Blake noticed a tree that was bound to come down any minute and got an idea.

She aimed her pistol at the tree and fired, causing it to fall over towards Adam. The bull faunus simply jumped back and chuckled at Blake’s failure.

“Is that all? I was expecting so much more from you this time my-GAHHH!!” He screamed as Weiss hit him with a shot of fire dust from her sword. She was still panting heavily from the battle, but was able to get in a good shot.

When Adam turned around to face her, Weiss could easily tell he wasn’t happy. Granted it wasn’t hard to make that assumption, given that he was gritting his teeth and growling.

“Fine then. It seems that you want to die first. I was actually hoping that would be the case.” He said angrily as he charged.

Weiss did her best, but eventual Adam deflected her sword away from her by a few good yards. Before she could go after it, she was hit by a backhand to the face by the terrorist, knocking her into a tree.

“NO!” Blake cried as she grabbed her pistol and prepared to fire. Adam grabbed Weiss and locked her with his right arm around her and his left holding his scabbard aimed at her head.

“I wouldn’t do anything rash, Blake, unless you want to see her lovely dress covered with blood. Drop the weapon, and I might just spare her.” Adam said.

Blake kept her aim trained on her former master. “Don’t bother trying that. We both know that you’ll kill her anyway regardless of my choice.”

Adam smirked. “I suppose you may be right. Still though, are you willing to take that risk?” He said as he pressed the scabbard right into her temple.

“Don’t Blake!! It’s a trick!” Weiss blurted out before Adam pressed it even harder against her head.

“You know, Schnee, I used to be like Blake, thinking that peace was the answer to achieving equality. Blake, my sister, and I were sure that our voices would be heard if we were loud enough to get our point across to the aristocrats of society. But six years ago, something changed my perspective. Do you want to know what that is?” Adam said deviously.

Weiss was honestly scared beyond any other time in her life right now. This man was insanely powerful and was now about to kill him. She decided that the best thing to do was humor him at the moment and by her teammate some time. “N-No...What?” She said with some fear in her voice.

Adam let all of his anger and hatred out at this moment. “My sister died in a peaceful rally just in Vale just when your father was present! We were doing nothing wrong and he decided to use his personal guards to deal with us since we were annoying him by being peaceful! SHE’S GONE!!! Your family is to blame for her DEATH!!!!” Adam screamed in anger.

Weiss was truly taken aback by that statement. She never would have guessed that a man with such hateful intentions would have been because of her father. In a way, she felt some sympathy for Adam despite all that he’s done. That being said, this didn’t justify all the lives the White Fang has taken and there crimes.

“I...I didn’t know that. I wasn’t with him that day. I’m sorry.” She said with a soft voice.

Adam merely sneered at her underneath hi mask. “No your not. You’ll never be. Not until you know what it’s like to feel pain like that. Granted, you won’t have to worry about feeling that pain, you’ll be dead in a couple of seconds.” He said bitterly.

Immediately, Blake tried to reason with her former partner. “Please, don’t do this. There doesn’t have to be anymore bloodshed Adam. We can fight in a different way.” Blake said as she lowered her gun.

Adam shook his head in pity. “Oh to be naive, thinking that the world can be changed by words alone. The reality is that actions speak louder than words, that’s what I learned six years. I thought that you would see that too, my love. Perhaps this will open your eyes, Blake.” He said as he put his finger on the trigger

Time seemed to slow down as Blake looked on in horror as her friend held a look of a scared child, wondering what to do. It looked like it was going to be all over for Weiss until a voice cried out all of the sudden from the East.

“HEY!!!”

Immediately, Blake eyes widened has much as they could when she heard that voice. A voice she knew all too well. The voice she was honestly terrified to hear again. She and Adam turned their heads to the sound of the voice. 

There she was, standing on top of the boulder where the other two girls were hiding, was a blond huntress wearing an orange tank top and a grey jacket on her top half. The other half was covered in grey cargo pants with white shoes to accompany her look. Her blond hair was flowing in the wind with her eyes red and a completely serious look on her face. She clearly wasn’t happy at the moment and frankly, who could blame her.

She jumped down from the rock and looked at the man who almost ruined her life with pure hatred. He had threatened her best friend before and was now doing it again with Weiss’s life also at stake. This guy needed to be stopped right away, and Yang was planning on doing just that. 

Adam grinned at the very sight of the person who he almost killed six months back. Truth be told, he really wanted to finish the job he started and was honestly hoping to kill her before Blake. This will teach his partner to betray him and the Fang.

“Well, well, well.” Adam said calmly. “I honestly didn’t expect to see you yet, blondie. I’ve been waiting to find you and finish what I started earlier and now, you just have given me the perfect chance.” Adam said still maintaining the smile until he noticed something off about Yang: it seemed her arm was somehow back. This caused Adam to grow under his breath and grit his teeth.

Yang actually smirked slightly at that. “She rolled up her right sleeve to show the golden arm with her gauntlet attached to it. “What’s the matter, Adam? A little annoyed that I got back in the fight? Or are you scared that I’m going to kick your ass for what you have done!!” Yang yelled and got ready to fight.

Blake winched at that. It was official: Yang was pissed and Blake hated that. While she was happy to see her partner back in action, she felt that Adam would honestly kill her this time. He didn’t even looked phased with Yang’s supposed threat at him as he held Weiss in place.

“I wouldn’t do anything careless, human. After all, you surely wouldn’t let me do anything to you former teammate, would you?” He said pointing out the obvious.

Yang merely chuckled, confusing the three of them. “You're right, I wouldn’t. Which is why I have friends to help. NOW!!!” She screamed.

*BLAM!*

Adam was forced to jump out of the way as his faunus hearing helped him hear a gunshot. He released Weiss and jumped back, narrowly dodging a .50 caliber bullet coming from the nearby tree line. Weiss rolled away as Adam looked towards the location of the shooter, who happened to be a 16-year old girl with a giant red sniper rifle.

Adam looked to Weiss and lunged at her to run his sword through her, only for a green blur to quickly move in and knocker her out of the way.

“What?!” He yelled in shock. He would have looked to where they had gone had he not heard the sound of grenades be launched at him from the east. He turned to see a girl with orange hair firing pink grenades with hearts at him. He had no choice but to jump away from the blast.

“Blasted kids. You’ll pay fo-” He was unable to finish that as he heard a gunshot coming from Yang’s direction. He turned to see her flying towards him with blistering speed.

“YEEEEAAAGGHHH” Yang screamed as her metal fist collided with Adam’s stomach, sending him flying through multiple trees.

“ULLLEEEEAAAAGGGGHH” Adam yelled in pain as he flew. He had taken quite the devastating hit from the girl he thought he wouldn’t have to worry about ever again. Oh man, was he wrong.

Yang landed on the ground and stood up with a smug smirk written on her face. To her, that was one of the single most satisfying things she had ever done in her life. The feeling of getting a good hit on the monster who took her arm really made her feel great.

Blake couldn’t believe it. Yang was not only back, but she managed to get a good hit on Adam as well. That definitely wasn’t enough to take him down, but it still was a good hit. Suddenly, she realized something took Weiss. She looked over by the tree where the green blur was to see non other than Ren, letting Weiss down from the bridal position.

“Wow. Thanks...Ren? Ren!!” Weiss said in amazement as she got looked like a kid who was about to get a puppy at the ninja.

Ren merely smirked. “Hello again Weiss. Good to see you.” He said as the heiress hugged him tightly. Ruby soon jumped down from her sniping position to greet her partner. The heiress turned around to see her land and could hardly believe that the girl right in front of her was the same girl that was her partner six months back. “Ruby? Is that you?”

The younger girl merely scratched her head sheepishly. “ Hey Weiss. How have you be-?” She was unable to finish as Weiss enveloped her in a tight hug, causing the reaper to blush.

“Ruby, thank god you're alright.” Weiss said softly with a tear rolling down her cheek.

Ruby quickly receded the hug and greeted her best friend and partner. “Jeez Weiss, never thought you would be crazy enough to fake a kidnapping to escape Atlas.” She said as they departed from the hug.

The heiress merely giggled at that statement. “Please. Like your one to talk, you dolt.” She said and soon went over to grab her sword from nearby. 

Blake had to smile at seeing her teammates reunite, only to realise that their was one other member present. She turned around to see Yang, staring at where Adam went, not moving an inch.

“Y-Yang?” Blake asked nervously.

Yang turned around and gave Blake a terrifying sight: her eyes were still red and she still held a look of anger and seriousness. She slowly walked towards the faunus without mumbling a word or changing her expression.

Blake was scared. When Yang was pissed, someone was bound to get hurt. She honestly was tempted to run again, but she decided going against that as Yang walked closer. Whatever she would do to her, Blake definitely deserved it.

Finally, Yang got to the point where she was standing a few feet apart from each other, where they could reach and touch one another. Yang still maintained the look of seriousness as she stared at her partner.

After staring at each other for a few seconds, Blake couldn’t take it. She had to say what was on her mind. “Yang, I’m so-”

!

After six months of being apart, six months of leaving without muttering a word to her, Blake couldn’t even begin to believe what was happening. This had to be a dream, no way this was the case. And yet, it somehow was. She could easily feel Yang’s skin and warmth on her as she did the one thing Blake never thought she would do.

Yang had Blake in a tight hug.

Blake blinked a couple of times before she realised that this was reality setting in. She didn’t deserve this, not after what she had done to her. And yet, here she was, being hugged like she was loved. Perhaps what was even more shocking was the fact that she heard the faint sounds of crying coming from the blonde. “Yang?” she said softly.

“You idiot. Don’t ever do that again! I was so worried about you.” Yang said through tears.

That was it. Blake finally couldn’t hold it in any more as she hugged Yang tightly and began to cry. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Yang, this is all my fault.”

“No, Blake. None of this is your fault. You don’t need to apologize.

“Yes I do. You lost your arm because of me. I ran because I was a coward. I was too scared to face you again. I’m so sorry!” Blake wailed.

*SMACK!!*

Blake reeled her head back in pain as she just got slapped by Yang pretty hard, who was clearly pissed. “For God’s sake, stop blaming yourself for EVERYTHING!!!!” She yelled at her friend who was completely shocked. Yang calmed down and brought her metal arm up to show the faunus. “I don’t blame you for this. This was the price I payed for saving your life. And goddamn it, I’d easily go through it again to keep you safe.”

Blake still looked like a kid who just lost a loved one as she listened. “But Yang-”

“No buts, Blake. You life was endangered and something had to be done. I would have done the same for Ruby, Weiss, or anyone else I care about. It’s why I became a huntress!” Yang said as she put her real hand on Blake’s shoulder and spoke in a sisterly tone. “It’s my job, Blake. It’s all of our jobs to protect the innocent. Don’t ever forget that again”

Blake stood there, completely speechless at what Yang had just said. Despite all that has happened, despite all that she had done, Yang had forgiven her. She didn’t know how or why, but she wasn’t going to let this second chance to go to waste. Oum knows that she didn’t deserve it.

“God, Yang. I’m so happy to see you again.” She said with a smile as she hugged her.

Yang closed her eyes and melted into the hug. “Same to you, kitty cat.”

They stood their for a few seconds, enjoying each other’s presence before they pulled away. As they parted away from their embrace, Yang noticed what Blake as wearing. “Damn, you got some style there, Blakey. Nice jacket!” The brawler exclaimed.

Blake punched her shoulder playfully. “Oh stop it. You’re looking great yourself in that outfit. It honestly suits you well.”

Nora soon jumped in and enveloped the two in a bear hug. “Hooray! Everyone's friends again!!” She cheered happily.

“Nora...can’t...breath.” Blake mumbled, causing the girl to release her grasp.

Ruby, Weiss, and Ren went over to the other three happily. Ruby hugged Blake tightly. “Blake, it’s been so long. It’s great to see you again.”

Blake receded the hug of her leader immediately. “Hi, Ruby. Nice to see that you are ok as well.”

Yang and Weiss were greeting each other again in the meantime. “Well Weiss, you certainly gotten more ice queenish with that dress.” Yang joked.

Weiss smirked. “Glad to see you too, Yang.” She simply said.

As they departed, Ruby jumped in joy. “Alright!! Team RWBY is reunited at last!!” She shouted causing everyone to chuckle.

“How precious.” said an intimidating male voice causing them all to freeze up and look towards the broken tree line. Adam was back on his feet holding his head with one hand and looking quite angry. “Reunions are always nice, especially when it means that I can kill all of you right now.” He said darkly as he put he reached for the hilt of his sword.

The six teens got ready for battle quickly. “Figures this guy wouldn’t go down so easily. Does anything else want to kill us?” Yang said with a groan.

Suddenly, the huntsmen could hear growling and shrieking sounds coming from all over the place. Beowolves and Griffons have been drawn to the area due to the negativity of the battle. They were soon surrounded by grimm all over the place.

Yang facepalmed. “I’m so sorry.”

Ruby shook her head. “Forget about it. We have to fight them off and deal with whoever that guy is.” 

“His name is Adam. He was my mentor and former partner in the White Fang and is their current leader. He is extremely dangerous.” Blake said.

“That doesn’t even begin to cut it. I’ll slice you all into pieces.” Adam said as stared them down.

The grimm decided that now would be a good time to charge at their prey as the beowolves lunged in to attack. The seven fighters had to fight them off without breaking a sweat. Soon the griffons were coming in and started to gang up on Ren and Nora.

Ruby realised they need help and decided to give them support. “Ren and Nora need backup. You three can handle Blake’s mentor, right?”

Yang got ready for combat. “Yeah, it will be no problem, Ruby.” She said as she stared Adam down and her teammates got ready to fight.

Adam smirked. “I have to say, I haven’t been hit that hard in a long time, blondie. I’ll give you some respect for being stronger and actually thinking in a fight. That being said, it will take much more than that to beat me!”

Yang looked at Blake and Weiss. “Ready girls?”

“Ready.” Blake said.

“Let’s take him down.” Weiss said.

And with that, the three charged at the faunus as he dashed forward to meet them in combat.  
(Insert Line)

It was safe to say that Qrow was having one hell of a day right now. He had just met his niece again after six months, he had been fighting monsters and terrorists with his family, and he was now dealing with snipers in a warzone.

All in all, he could really use a drink right about now.

He, his sister, and Taiyang had just successfully dealt with some snipers pinning down soldiers in a nearby square. The snipers had barely put up a fight, but the old dogs were starting to get tired. He and Taiyang were currently taking a quick rest against the wall of the doorway that lead back into the building the snipers were located on. Raven was keeping an eye out for trouble.

Qrow had taken out his flask to take a quick drink. After taking a sip, he offered it to his best friend and teammate. Tai stared at him for a second like he was a complete lunatic.

“You can’t be serious. I haven’t had a drink in years Qrow. You know that.” Tai said sternly.

Qrow merely rolled his eyes. “After all that’s been going on, I figured you could use it too.”

The father of Yang and Ruby stared for a few seconds before reluctantly taking the flask to have a drink. “Don’t tell the kids.” He said as he took a sip.

“They're not children anymore, Tai.” Raven spoke up as she looked around for any signs of trouble. The battle has seemed to calm down a tiny bit from it’s original intensity, but it was still hectic never or less. “The battle of Beacon changed them for good.”

Taiyang sighed. “I know. I just wish they hadn’t had to experience something like that so soon. They’re far too young to be fighting in a war like this.” He said sadly.

Qrow put an hand on his shoulder. “You think any of us wanted this, Tai? I’d do anything to make it so they wouldn’t have to live through this. Unfortunately, I’m no god, and I doubt that one will come down to save us from this hellhole. So we have to pick ourselves up and fight back.” He said as he got up and hand his arm out to pull Taiyang up. 

Taiyang chuckled as he was helped up. “Never heard you talk about gods before, Qrow.”

“What do think I am, a priest? I’ve seen a lot of shit, Tai, but that doesn’t mean I believe in everything I hear. The only faith I have is faith in humanity.” Qrow said.  
Raven shook her head. Oh, the irony. The one who first knew about the maidens is the one to say that. Raven thought to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the humming sound of an aircraft. She looked over a few buildings away to see an aircraft trying to land on a nearby building.

Qrow and Taiyang also took notice of the airship attempting to land and looked completely bewildered. “And I thought people couldn’t get any stupider. Who the hell’s dumb enough to try the land an airship in a grimm invested city?” Qrow asked.

Raven turned to him with a glare. “Someone who is still learning.” She said

Qrow and Taiyang’s eyes widened as they looked towards the ship.

*BLAM*

A bullet rips through the tail rotor of the ship and cause it to spin out of control. The ship tries to stay in the air, but it is doomed to make a crash landing.

“Oh Shit! It’s going down!” Taiyang said as he rushed towards the edge to see it crash in the par. Fortunately, the ship had a softer crash than imagined as it skid through the dirt and slowed down without crushing the hull.

Raven went on the edge of the roof. “They landed in that park. If we move now, we could get to them before the grimm does.” She said as she drew her sword and prepared to create a portal. It was right before she did, however, that she noticed her brother staring at the building where the bullet path came from. “What’s wrong, brother?”

Qrow held a look of concern as he looked toward the building in silence. Before anyone could say anything else, Qrow jumped of the building and turned into a crow to fly over to the area where the gunshot came from.

Taiyang looked to Raven with a skeptical look, wondering what his friend was doing. Raven merely shrugged as she sliced a portal open. “This portal will take you down to the ground level. Go after them. I’ll see what’s up with Qrow.”

Taiyang stood there for a second, considering his options, before nodding and jumping through the portal. After he went through, Raven closed the gateway and used her semblance to follow her brother to the nearby skyscraper he flew towards. This isn’t like you, Qrow. What the hell is eating you up inside? She thought to herself as she flew.  
Two minutes past as she landed on a deck of the shooter’s hideout and morphed back into her human self. As she looked around, she saw Qrow kneeling next to a metal siding of the building, observing it closely. As she walked towards him, she saw what he was observing. The metal siding of the area had a small dent in it, clearly impacted by some small yet powerful force, yet it looked like something bounced of it rather than going into the metal siding. As Qrow stood up and turned around, Raven saw something that was rarely shown to be in Qrow’s eyes: fear.

“Brother, what is it?” Raven asked with a confused look on her face. She was about to walk forward to snap him out of his trance when he broke from it on his own and jumped into her with lightning speed.

*BLAM*

Raven was barely knocked out of the way in time as a bullet whizzed past her head and hit the the building across from where they originally were. As she took cover behind the wall, she saw her brother shooting at the direction of the shot with his sword.

“Qrow, what the hell was that?!” She said as he turned to her with teeth grit and anger painted on his face.

“That, my sister, was Deadshot!”

End Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Shit, things just got real!! Team RWBY and NR vs Adam, Qrow and Raven vs Deadshot. Next chapter is going to be quite the fight indeed for our heroes.
> 
> Once again, I am so sorry that this chapter took so long to debut. In all honesty, I’ve been dealing with school work and have been extremely lazy. In my defence, Overwatch is an incredibly addictive game. I’ll start working on the next chapter and have it out to you guys ASAP.
> 
> In other news, that pole I was going to have you guys vote on will be coming up in two chapters, so be ready to have your own say in the story.


	10. Attack on Haven City: Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are, Chapter 10. In a way, I consider this the mid-finale to this story arc. I can’t begin to say how grateful I am that this story got so big. I’m so proud of myself for getting this far already and I really owe you all so much for this achievement. I know I may sound overly grateful, but I honestly don’t really care. Now let’s delve back into this epic tale.

Chapter 10: Attack on Haven City: Part 3

Floyd Lawton hadn’t had what one would call an ideal childhood. Then again, having an abusive father pretty much guaranteed that growing up would be a miserable experience. Floyd’s asshole of a father regularly beaten him, his mother, and his brother often after coming to their Mistral home drunk every night. It got to the point where Floyd wanted to kill his father many times.

Fortunately for him, his brother happened to own guns.

At a young age, Floyd and his brother loved rifles with a passion. They often went on hunting trips to get food or just for pure enjoyment. His brother even bought him a hunting rifle to have as his own. It was one of the many reasons why he loved his brother more than anything else in the world. The other reasons included how his brother always saw the best in him and felt that he would go on to do great things, something his father never saw in him whatsoever. Floyd loved his brother more than anything else in the whole world.

Which is why he got furious whenever he saw his father attack him.

One day in particular, Floyd was coming out of the forest after a good day of hunting when he noticed that his father and his brother in a heated argument right in their backyard. Due to their house being by the woods and away from society, most people had no clue what really went on at the Lawton household. Eventually, the argument escalated into his father throwing a punch right into Floyd’s brother’s face, resulting in the two getting into a fis fight. Having enough of his father’s evil ways, Floyd decided that it was time to end his reign of terror on the family once and for all.

Thinking quickly, he climbed up a nearby tree and sat on a branch with his rifle aimed at the scuffle, trying to get a clear shot at the man as he was fighting his brother. The perfect opportunity came after his brother managed to through his father off of himself after the man straddled him to punch his face. Floyd smirked at finally claiming his revenge as he prepared to fire.

That was when everything went completely wrong.

The branch, unable to hold the weight of the teenage boy any longer, snapped off the tree! Floyd fell down and hit the ground with a painful *thump*. At the time, it was quite the painful feeling of falling, but it was nothing as to what happened right as he fell. Right as the branch snapped, Floyd accidentally fired his rifle, causing a bullet to hit one of the two targets in the head.

Sadly, it was the target that Floyd was trying not to kill that got hit.

The day of the funeral of his brother was perhaps the saddest day of Floyd’s life. He felt miserable for being the one to take his own role model’s life, rather than save him from the monster that tortured them so much. After that day, Floyd couldn’t take it anymore. He took his rifle and ran off into the night, vowing to never return to the household ever again. Unfortunately, he soon discovered the consequences of being homeless: being cold, hungry, and broke. 

So how did things turn around for the boy? He killed again, that’s how.

One day, while trying to sleep in an alley that he made his home in Haven City, he overheard a politician and a criminal talking about doing an assassination job. The politician wanted to pay the man handsomely in exchange for him taking out a political rival of his The supposed shooter backed out of the mission, claiming that it was far too risky of a job to attempt to pull of. Before the employer could go off, Floyd decided to intervene and see if he could make some money. It was not his first choice for a source of income, but he was so hungry and desperate that he couldn’t really care less. The employer was reluctant to do so at first, but gave in as he realized that no one else would do it.

On the day of the job, Floyd got into a vantage point as he looked at the man who was speaking at an outdoor press conference. He could distinctly remember the charismatic face the middle aged man had on as he talked about his plans for the city and how to improve it. It was then that Floyd began to sweat nervously and think to himself.

Was this what his brother would have wante him to do? Kill people for the sake of money? This was a crime. If anything, he should put down the gun and go home to his fam-

…

Family. The family led by the man that tortured him for so long. The man he swore as his mortal enemy. The man that was responsible for his brother’s death. He would admit defeat to him?

No. No way in hell would he crawl back to him and beg for mercy. He loved his brother dearly, but he hated his father far more.

Floyd took the shot and hit the speaker right between the eyes. He remembered the cries of horror as blood splattered all over the stage, a body dropped down to the floor and never got back up. Floyd ran as fast as he could and evaded authorities. It was then that he realised something: killing was actually a very easy thing to do once you did it once. In way, it was like hunting for animals, except they were far smarter. The sheer thrill of hunting again soon came back to the boy as he ran for his life to lose his pursuers.

It was official: He would become an assassin.

That night, Floyd met his employer at the same alley and got the money he desperately needed. The lien was enough to help the sharpshooter upgrade his arsenal and help him continue his career in the art of killing. He soon had his old hunting rifle, a custom assault rifle with a grip bayonet, two wrist mounted machine guns, a full white face mask, and a red monocle designed to help him aim better. That’s not all he was able to get from jobs. At one point, he got special training by paying a rogue huntsmen in fighting and unlocking his aura. Due to his training, he discovered his semblance: upon activation, he would never be able to never miss a shot for a short amount of time. All of this, combined with his new reputation he acquired over the years by killing many high profile figures, gave him a legendary nickname in the criminal underworld of Remnant.

Deadshot.

(Insert Line)

It has been 20 years since Floyd shot his brother by accident and he was now in Haven city once again, currently trying to shoot down an old enemy of his who had tried to discover his position. He had just taken out a ship with a ricochet shot when he noticed two older huntsmen apparently morphing from there bird forms on the roof where he ricocheted the bullet. One of them he recognized as a great annoyance to him: Qrow Branwen. Floyd smirked as he tried to shoot the him and the other huntsmen with him. Unfortunately for him, Qrow noticed his laser on the woman’s head and tackled her out of the way. It’s not like this annoyed him that much. After all, he didn’t activate his semblance with the shot, so it’s not like he was trying to hit him.

If anything, he wanted to let them know he was there, watching their every move like a wolf.

Surely enough, Qrow tried to fire back at him with reaper. This was good in Floyd’s eyes: it wouldn’t be a fun mission if his life wasn’t in danger after all. No adrenaline surging through the body as you wonder if your live to see another day. It’s one of the reason’s Floyd loves his job so much. Why, he remembers a couple of months back when he was trying to do a job in Gotham, the other major city in Mistral, and a guy dressed as a bat came in and broke both his arms and legs and left him to be arrested by the police.

And they call him crazy.

H would have been rotting in prison had it not been for the women in a red dress who payed for his bail. She said she would let him go on one condition: he would do whatever job she would need him to do.

So here he was, in a grimm invested city, fighting huntsmen and shooting down aircrafts. It was the perfect job for him: plenty of things around that will try to kill him and for him to kill instead. And it paid really well, that was a plus in his book.

At this moment, the gunfire from his old enemy briefly stopped, prompting him to try and take a shot at them. When he used his aiming monocle however, he noticed that they were no longer in sight for firing at. He briefly wondered where they went before he heard something from behind, like a weird humming sound.

*SCHWINNING*

Deadshot jumped out of the way to avoid a slash and landed with his wrist guns armed and aimed at the two hunters right in front of him, who had their weapons out and ready as well.

Floyd smirked underneath his concealed face. “Well well well, Qrow Branwen! How long has it been since our last battle? A few years back. You must be feeling pretty good about all of this action going down?” He asked rhetorically. [AN: Think Chris Cox, voice actor for Deadshot in Batman: Arkham Origins.]

“Suppose I was alright, until I noticed you were here apparently shooting children. What’s going on, Floyd? Why the hell are you here?” Qrow asked as his blade turned into scythe mode.

Deadshot waggled his finger. “Sorry. I’m afraid that’s classified information. You know how it is. Professional standards.” He said as he noticed the women. “Although, I may be persuaded by...other means.” He said seductively

Raven growled. “I’m sorry, but you’re really not my type. You see I prefer men who don’t kill people for a living.”

Deadshot merely chuckled. “Isn’t that what you huntsmen do when things go south? Or maybe it’s different due to your ‘righteous path’.” He taunted.

By this point Qrow had heard enough. He charged at him and slashed with his scythe in order to knock him back. Deadshot dodged it by rolling underneath and fired his wrist guns, one aimed at each huntsmen.

Raven jump away and tried to slice at Deadshot with a red blade. Deadshot merely shot at the wall, ricocheting the bullet and hitting the blade, breaking it off as Raven swung at him. The women was baffled by his marksman skills.

“If you think that’s good sweetheart, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Deadshot said as he drew his knife and tried to gut Raven. The two quickly engaged into cqc as Qrow tried to get into help his sister. Deadshot took notice and kicked his opponent away to fire his wrist gun at him, forcing the older man to get clear.

Raven countered by drawing a new blade from her dust hilt and moved in with superhuman speed to keep Deadshot on the move. By doing this, she was preventing him from taking aim for another shot. But the marksmen was far more dangerous than the huntress assumed, as he took out his assault rifle and tossed it in the air. He then elbowed Raven in the head and delivered a hurricane kick to her, sending her back into the wall.

As Qrow moved in to strike from behind, the rifle came down and fell right into his right hand. He fired over his right shoulder without even looking and hit Qrow directly in the chest. Qrow slammed onto the roof floor and rolled back in recoil.

“Gotta say, Qrow, you’re getting slow in your old age. Last time we met, you would have been able to dodge a point-blank shot like that. I think it’s time I put down the this bird.” The assassin said as he went over to him with his wrist gun ready, only to discover that Qrow was chuckling. “What’s so funny? You always seemed like the one to laugh at death’s door.”

“I’m laughing because apparently, you haven’t figured out the concept of a distraction just yet.” He said with a smirk. Before Deadshot could respond, he heard Raven come in with her blade and barely got out of the way in time. Qrow got up and landed a double drop kick on him, knocking him away to the edge of the rooftop.

“Thanks, sis.” Qrow said

Raven rolled her eyes. “You always were the reckless one. Let’s just finish this.” She said as she approached the assassin with her blade ready.

Deadshot, realizing that it was time to leave, used his aiming monocle to observe the metal behind him. He was hoping to find just the right spot to aim. When he found it, he fired his wrist gun at Raven twice, forcing her out of the way and hitting a stone gargoyle on the edge of the behind her in two different spots.

“You know, for a so called legendary sharpshooter, you’re really not that good of a shot.” Raven said as she prepared to finish him off.

Deadshot chuckled darkly. “Oh, I am. In fact, I never miss a shot unless I want to. You just weren’t the target I was aiming for.”

Raven and Qrow were briefly confused by this, only to have their eyes widen in realization and look back to the gargoyle, which was overlooking the park.

“Oh Shit!” Qrow said as he prepared to strike the assassin, only to see that he disappeared. “God dammit! He played me again! Come on! We got to move!” he said as he ran to the edge and turned into a crow to fly down to the park.

Raven quickly fired as she thought worryingly to herself. Damn it. He shot at one of them. The only question is who. She soon jumped off to fly with her brother towards the park where the ship crashed. 

(Insert Line) 

Yang grunted as she was knocked back by Blake’s former mentor. The faunus was indeed a tough opponent, but she refused to fall to this monster once again. Back then, she was too reckless, always relying on her semblance and anger to win her fights.

This time, things are quite different. She wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

Currently, the bane of her existence was dueling Blake and Weiss once again while the rest of her friends were dealing with the grimm in the area. Weiss was soon knocked away while Blake dueled with her mentor one on one.

“When will you see it Blake? When will you understand that you're fighting for a lost cause? We could have done so much together, but you still side with them.” Adam said as they locked blades.

“You always assumed the worst of them, Adam. Sure there might be bad humans, but there are plenty of good ones too. There not all like the ones that took your sister.” Blake said. Adam threw her off and knocked her away.

“It’s because of them that she dead!! They took her from! From us!!!!” Adam screamed. “And you draw your blade with them rather than against them?!!! I can’t believe I cared for you at one point!”

Yang decided to jump in and take over. “Leave her out of it!! I’m your opponent now.”

Adam flashed her a wicked smirk. “Alright then, blondie. Let’s finish this!” he said as they charged and dueled.

“I have a name, you know.” Yang shot back annoyed.

“And I think I made it pretty clear that I don’t really care what it is. A human is a human.”

The two dueled with great ferocity. Yang managed to get a hook in on his face, but Adam quickly countered and kicked her into a tree.

Adam soon jumped and and lunged at her with his sword. Yang saw it coming and caught it with her robotic arm and pulled him in smash her real fist into his chest. She fired another shot of Ember Celica for good measure. Adam tried to shoot her with his scabbard, but Yang used her prosthetic arm to block the bullets and get in closer.

Blake jumped back in and shot at Adam to distract him, allowing Weiss to come in and land a slice against his back. This aloud for Blake to dash in and slash him right across his chest. Yang finished by coming in with an uppercut, knocking him upward and landing down on the ground.

The three huntsmen stood lined up and ready to fight. “Give it up, Adam. Your out numbered. You’ve lost.” Blake said

Adam merely stood back up and cracked his neck, until his scroll ringed in his pocket. He quickly checked it and read the message on it, clearly annoyed. “Damn it. Always something to ruin the moment. It appears our time is cut short, my love. I’m afraid I have to get going.”

“You think we will just let you walk away after all you have done? I knew you were crazy, but I never thought you would be stupid.” Weiss said.

Adam smirked. “Well then, you going to just have to decide on what matters more: getting me, or saving your leader and friends.” 

Before the three could answer, they heard a scream, and then another. It sounded like Ruby and Nora!

“Ruby!!!” Yang screamed as she jerked her head towards where the sound was coming from. She quickly turned to Adam who had a smug expression on his face.

“Oh, a shot in the leg must be pretty painful. Afterall, it can render its victim helpless for some time. I’d go find them, they need you girls.” he said

Yang growled at him with pure hatred. “We will find you again, and we will stop you.” She said as she turned around and used her gauntlets to launch her in the air and get to Ruby faster. Blake and Weiss soon followed as the former jumped from tree to tree and the latter used her glyphs.

Adam growled as he walked away back into the forest. After a few minutes of walking, he came across the ship where Blake crashed. Surely enough, a red portal suddenly formed and a woman in a red dress with amber eyes came out of it. Cinder did not look very pleased at the moment.

“There had better be a good reason to why you’re calling of the assault.” Adam said.

Suddenly, a loud humming sound came in from the North. Adam and Cinder looked to see two giant airships painted red and brown entering the city’s airspace. It appears that the Mistralian air fleet has arrived. Immediately the ships began to disperse fighter and shoot at nevermores and griffons flying around the city.

“I believe that works as a good enough reason to call it a day. It matters not, though. We made them afraid. That was the goal of this attack. I’d advise that you’d come with me, Taurus. My mistress would like to speak with you personally.” Cinder said with a smirk as she walked back through the portal and disappeared.

Adam briefly stared at the portal before getting his scroll out and sending a message to all of the members of the White Fang currently in the city to pull out. “This had better be worth my time and soldiers.” he said as he walked through the portal. As soon as he disappeared through it, the gateway closed, leaving the area deserted except for a raven in the trees, which then flew off to find her loved ones.

(Insert Line)

Things were not looking so good for Lie Ren right now.

At first, he and his two teammates seemed to have the grimm situation under control. The beowolves and creeps were no match for the three of them as they fought with no mercy for the monsters. It seemed to be going so well.

Then two gunshots came in from above, bounced off of a rock, and hit both Ruby and Nora in the leg.

It wouldn’t be so bad if their auras were still strong, but fighting all day had rendered them weaker and tired. The gunshots made it so the two could still walk, but couldn’t do anything extreme. This left the boy as the only one who could fight all out at the moment as Ruby and Nora were forced to cover him from a distance.

Currently, Ren was dealing with a swarm of creeps and some beowolves, using his guns to fight them off, while Nora shot at some ursas and Ruby dealt with some griffons. Things weren’t looking so good at the moment, as the other three girls were nowhere in sight due to the battle with Adam taking them farther away.

As Nora held off the ursas, she heard the sound of a nevermore shrieking from above. She barely had time to act as the creature shot it’s feathers at her and her new leader. She looked over to Ruby, only to see that she was to preoccupied fighting off the griffons to notice. At that point, she would never make it out of the way by the time to notice. 

Realizing that she had to act quickly, Nora used her grenade launcher to launch herself towards Ruby and knock her out of the way. Unfortunately, one of the quills managed to strike her in the right arm.

“AGGGHHHHHH!!!” Nora screamed in pain.

Immediately, Ren looked over to the two of them and saw what had happened. He then notice that the beowolves were about to pounce the two of them. Ren looked on in horror for a split second. It looked like that they were about to be killed. He then remembered Pyrrha and Jaune, how they were gone.

No. He would not lose anyone else, not his two teammates. Especially not Nora.

A beowolf decided to take Ren’s current state as an opportunity to strike and lunged at him with his teeth ready to kill from behind. Ren simply stuck his palm out into it’s head without looking, causing it’s head to explode immediately. Ren then dashed with an angry look on his face, as he fought of the grimm attacking the girls. “Leave Them Alone!!!” He shouted as he continued to fight. The two girls watched in awe as the ninja stabbed each beowulf with the blades of stormflower and shot them all multiple times, moving like a ninja that he always aspired to become.

Nora was especially impressed with his skills. She always knew that he was a capable fighter, but now she couldn’t help but see how determined he was to fight them. It made fireworks explode inside her seeing him move so gracefully, yet shocked to see him lose his calm exterior. In all honesty, it made Ren seem more human than ever. That may sound weird, but Ren was never one for getting emotionally compromised.

Ren was just about finished when a alpha beowolf tried to slice him from the back. Ren merely jumped up and bounced himself of of a branch to stab his weapons into the beowolf’s back, killing it instantly. By the end, he was panting heavily from the assault he had just performed, but it was all worth it to save his friends. He looked over to Ruby and Nora, the latter having her eyes widened and her mouth in the shape of an ‘o’. At that point, Nora could only say one thing:

“Whooooaaaa!” 

Ren immediately walked over to the two of them. “Are you two alri-”

He couldn’t finish as Nora jumped on him excitedly and talked about how awesome he just was. “WOW Renny! That was AMAZING!!! You were all like: “Leave Them Alone!” and they were all like...nothing, because they were dead before they even knew what hit them!!” Nora said in happiness.

Ruby staggered over. “Uh Nora, I think you're still injured. Maybe you should take it easy.” Ruby advised. Nora pouted but nodded as she sat next to the tree, the pain starting to come back due to the adrenaline that was in her body. “But seriously, thanks Ren. You saved us both.”  
Before he could respond, they heard a loud thumping noise. They looked over to see a beringul, looking pissed off due to its brethren being slayed. The monster let out a ferocious roar as it prepared to strike.

“Damn it. Sorry Ren, we’ll provide covering fire but you're going to have to take that thing on alone.” Ruby said as she readied Crescent Rose to fire upon the beast.

Suddenly, a familiar yellow blur slammed into the monster with extreme force. Yang had had enough of these monster threatening her friends and sister. She soon landed with a roll and got up to fight.

“He’s not alone. He always has us to fight with him.” Yang said.

Before the beringul could strike, a black blur came in and slashed at the creature, revealing itself to be Blake. The grimm tried to smash her, only for her to use her semblance to escape danger and land by her partner.

“I haven’t seen a grimm like this in a long time. You?” Blake asked her partner

Yang shook her head. “Can’t say that I have. Not going to lie, bit excited to try and fight it.” she said with a smirk as they charged.

Weiss, meanwhile, snuck over to Ruby and Nora while her teammates distracted the beast. “You dolts. I leave you two for five minutes and you still manage to get hurt. I swear that you’ll be the death of me.” Weiss said caringly and annoyed.

Ruby scratched her head. “Sorry. The gunshots really came out of nowhere. We’ll be fine.” Ruby said as she watched her sister and friend battle the creature. Suddenly, an idea popped in her head. “Yu thinking what I’m thinking?” She asked with a smirk to her partner.

Weiss couldn’t help but smirk back. “Ice Flower?”

“Ice Flower.”

Yang jumped back as she barely dodged a powerful punch from the beringul. Blake was distracting the creature while she noticed Ruby and Weiss getting into a stance with the heiress using her glyphs to power up Ruby’s weapon.

Blake noticed to as she landed away from the beast. She looked to her partner with a smirk. “Bumblebee?

Yang had to smirk this time. “Bumblebee.”

Blake threw her weapon in gunform with the ribbon attached to Yang and started to whirl her around, building up speed. The beringul was about to strike when Ruby shot at it with her powered up gun, freezing it in place, though only briefly.

Meanwhile, Yang was increasing her speed with her gauntlets and her partner’s help Eventually, Blake threw Yang into the creature, the latter throwing her fist into the frozen beast, smashing it to pieces. Yang land on a tree and stood proudly, pleased that her team was back and that she had recovered from her injury. She had been lost for a long time due to her depression. She would never fall down to that level again. 

Blake also beamed with pride at seeing her friend back in the fight. In all honestly, she thought that Yang would have never been able to fight again after Beacon. She was so happy to see her back in action.

Team RWBY was back. Her family was whole once more and she wouldn’t want it have it any other way They would never get split up again.

Ruby jumped for joy alongside Weiss. “That was so cool. We took that thing down in no time flat. This is such an awesome day!!” Ruby squealed in joy.

She would have kept that same happy face on had she not heard another thumping sound coming from the West. She looked over to see another beringul coming into battle. It was bigger and even more pissed off than the last one.

Weiss sighed. “It appears that are luck isn’t so awesome. I hope you’re enjoying this, Ruby.”

Before the reaper could answer, the beringul as hit from behind and knocked over by a familiar blond man. With two gauntlets wielding machine guns, he fired upon the beast while jumping back.

“Dad!” Ruby and Yang cried happily.

“I think you kids have done enough, today. Let me handle it.” Taiyang said with a grin as he charged into fight.

Blake cocked her eyebrow up as she watched Yang’s father fight quickly and ferociously. “Let me guess: he taught you how to fight?”

Yang shot a playful grin. “What ever gave you that idea?”

Blake rolled her eyes. “Just a feeling.” she said sarcastically. “You sure he won’t need any help?

“Nah. If anything, we’re in for a show. Might as well kick back and watch for now.”

Blake didn’t know what to say about that. On one hand, Taiyang was an experienced huntsman. On the other hand, every person had their limit, and this man was no exception. Still though, she had a long day at this point. She supposed a little rest couldn’t hurt, so long as the man could hold his own in battle.

Meanwhile, Taiyang was moving back and forth, slashing at the beringel with his claws and shooting at hit on the move at every angle possible. The monster proceeded to get angrier and lunged at him, forcing him to roll out of the way. He was about to strike when he heard a shriek coming from above. The nevermore was back and it was ready to kill as it fired feathers at him. He jumped away, but one managed to scrape his arm. Taiyang merely flinched at the pain and recover, only to notice the beringul was coming in to strike him head on! It was so close that he had no time to dodge!!

*FWISSSSSHHHHH*

Taiyang opened his eyes to notice that he wasn’t knocked away, rather that he was saved by a woman in white mask with jet black hair carrying him bridal style. It didn’t take the world’s greatest detective to figure out who it was.

“You were overconfident there, Tai. Try not to get yourself killed.” Raven said as she chastised her partner.

Taiyang groaned as he got up from the women. “I had it under control Raven. Yu didn’t need to do that.”

The female huntress merely sighed at the man she was once married to. “It’s been a long day. Let’s just end this.” She said as she drew her blade and charged at the beringel with blinding speed. Taiyang soon followed as the two slashed at the monster and evaded it’s powerful fists Soon, the two huntsmen fought the monster expertly and managed to subdue the beast without taking another hit. 

Blake got confused at the sight of the other women. She didn’t know why, but she had an uneasy feeling from seeing her in the first place. “Yang, who is she?”

Yang merely sighed. “Remember when I told you the story of my mother a few months back?”

Blake eyes widened when she put two and two together. “You don’t mean-”

Yang nodded. “Yup. That’s my mom. She took me to a cave in the middle of the night two months back and trained me to become a better fighter. Can’t say that I expected it, but I’m happy that she did. She really got me back out here.” Yang said with a small smile.

Blake could hardly believe it. Yang told her that this woman was gone for a fyears. She left Yang when she was little, forcing her to grow up without a mother. And now she just returned out of nowhere and Yang was ok with it? Blake couldn’t help but fume on the inside. Her partner deserved better than this. After all, who just leaves without a word and-

!

Oh God. Blake just remembered that she did the same thing to the poor girl. She needed her after Beacon and she just ran off without saying a single word. She was no better than this women. Actually, she might have been worse due to the fact that her mother came back on her own. Honestly, Yang really deserved better than her. Than again, it seemed that she forgave her despite what she had done. She seemed to have been given a second chance.

She would not waste it.

Meanwhile, the beringel was finally weaned down to the point where Taiyang delivered a powerful punch from above, lamming the creature into the ground. Raven jumped up and slashed downward, beheading the beast and finishing it off. The creature disintegrated into the air, leaving no trace of it behind other than it’s crater. Raven merely unsheathed her blade and gave Taiyang a smirk, who was panting.

“What’s the matter darling? Been awhile since a real fight?” She asked, earning her a glare from the man. Yang and the other ran up to the two.

“Wow. That was amazing. You guys took that thing down like it was nothing at all.” Yang said, clearly impressed.

Raven chuckled. “What did you expect from your mother? These beasts are strong, but we are far stronger.” She said as she turned to Blake. “I take it you’re her partner? Yang’s told me a lot about you.” She said extending her hand out to her kindly.

Blake hesitated for a second, before reluctantly shaking her hand. “Likewise.”

Ren spoke up. I hate to ruin the moment, but I think we’ve got bigger problems at the moment.” He said calmly as he pointed to a swarm of griffons preparing to attack.

The huntsmen readied for battle. “You know, I was excited at first to be back to fight. All of this fighting reminded me of how terrible this job can be sometimes.” Weiss deadpanned.

Ruby chuckled. “You mean you actually regret going to Beacon meeting us?”

Weiss smirked. “Not at all.”

The griffons got closer as they got ready to battle. It looked like that it was going to be one hell of a fight. Suddenly, the griffons started to get shot out of the air by machine guns, surprising everyone.

“What was that?” Nora said

“There! Look!” Taiyang pointed up in the sky.

The huntsmen saw that some red and brown ships were now in the city airspace, firing off at the creatures around them. The battle had finally take a turn for the better. 

“Is that the Mistral fleet?” Ruby asked as a few griffons landed in front of them. They would have charged had it not been for a huntsmen with grey air slicing them to pieces with his sword and landing easily.

“Yes, it is.” Qrow said as he landed. Ruby soon charged into him for a hug.

“Uncle Qrow!!! You’re ok!!” She said happily

Qrow chuckled. “I’m fine kiddo. Are you ok? You didn't get shot by any chance did you?”

Ruby groaned. “I did get hit in the leg, but my aura healed it up nicely. Nora got hit as well but we’re fine. We can still fight.”

Qrow was happy. He was relieved that the two that got hit were alright. Next time that he would see Deadshot, he would kick his ass so hard that he would never be able to walk again. “Come on guys. The battle is ending. It’s time to help out the wounded.”

Weiss spoke up. “So we won?”

“That depends on your perspective of the battle.” Raven said darkly as she masked her face and walked off to to where they entered. Yang sighed as she followed reluctantly along with the others in tow.

Way to be the positive one, mom. Yang thought to herself as she walked. One thing was for sure: the battle for Haven City seemed to be coming to a close.

(Insert Line)

The huntsmen of teams STRQ, RWBY, and JNPR returned to the city hall, where the Atlas army were gathering to check on the wounded. Some were cheering over the fact that the Mistralian fleet came in and victory was theirs, others were mourning their fallen comrades. Many civilians were also gathered around the area, nursing the wounded and providing comfort and protection to those that needed it most. At this point, pretty much everyone could use it.

Wherever you looked, you could see that the battle had taken it’s tole on the city. Debris was scattered all over, landmarks were desecrated, and civilians were scattered in dismay. Among the civilians were some from Waynetech, clearly traumatized by what had happened It may have been a victory, but the cost was definitely a hefty one.

General Ironwood was out of the command center, currently talking to some of his specialists and commanders about the battle. Just a few minutes prior to them arriving, he was happy to see that reinforcements arrived and provided support to his forces. His army might have been strong, but Beacon taught him that they were not invincible. At the same time, however, he was not happy that they were here.

The reason? It meant that he would have to talk to an old “Friend” of his. One he hadn’t talked to in a long time. One who held grudges.

James mentally sighed as he saw Qrow and the others approach him. He bid farewell to his men and went over to speak at them.

“I presume you all did well?” He asked rhetorically.

Qrow nodded. “Well, this sure as hell went better than at Beacon. We were ready this time.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that there were casualties.” Raven said.

“True, but we saved as many people as we could and the city. That’s all that matters.” Taiyang said, trying to lighten the mood.

James had to agree with that. There may have been losses, but it could have been much worse. He then noticed the two extra huntsmen in the area. “Miss Schnee. I’m surprised that you two arrived here so early. Your sister will be relieved to see that you are ok.”

Weiss bowed. “It was a risky move general, I’ll admit it. But I felt it was the right one to make. I can only hope she’ll understand why I did it.”

“Well, she is in the south section of the city and will come back aboard our cruiser when ready. You’ll get a chance to speak with her. In all honesty, I’m glad you two did. We could use more huntsmen out here.” Jimmy said, earning a smile from the girls. 

“I bet. We kicked some serious ass today.” Yang said happily.

Ironwood nodded as a humming sound came from the south. They looked over to see multiple dropships coming in from the sky. They were colored red and brown, marking them as part of the Mistral army. The one in the center had a special emblem of Mistral painted gold.

Ironwood let out a sigh. “Oh boy.”

“Friend of yours?” Qrow asked.

“Used to be. We parted on bad terms. You guys may want to stand back. This is going to get ugly.” He said as he walked forward a couple feet, separating himself from the group.

The dropships landed moments later, deploying Mistral soldiers armed and ready to secure the area. Out of the central ship came an older man of African descent wearing a red and brown general outfit with shoulder patches of Mistral’s emblem equipped. This was General Calvin Swanwick, one of the highest ranking officials in all of Mistral and commander of the kingdom’s armed forces. While not as well knew as Ironwood, he still held a formidable reputation to those who knew who he was. His specialized forces onboard came out to provide cover for the man 

“James.” He said

“Calvin.” Ironwood said back.

For a few seconds they stared at each other. Then, Calvin spoke. “Where is Rovin? I have to know of his status.”

Ironwood took a deep breath and sighed. “I’m sorry, Calvin. I did my best but I’m afraid he passed on.”

Swanwick closed his eyes and turned round for a second, taking in a deep breath as he tried to come to terms with what had happened. He soon turned around with a stern glare. “A few months back, the city of Vale fell to Grimm invasion, despite the fact that your forces were present in the city. Now, Roven is dead and Haven City almost fell due to Grimm invasion. Once again, you and your forces were present. Noticing a pattern here, James?”

Ironwood was taken aback briefly, before trying to be more sympathetic. “Calvin, please-”

“Save it.” He said sternly. “You and your huntsmen will come onto my ship this instant. We have a lot to talk about.” He finished as he walked off to check the area and meet with survivors. 

Ironwood groaned quietly. This was going to be a long day indeed. He soon walked back towards the group

Ruby spoke up. “I’m guessing that didn’t go so well.”

Ironwood nodded. “We are all to report on his cruiser immediately. This is going to be one hell of a day.” He said as he took out his scroll.

“I suppose rest is out of the question?” Taiyang said.

‘You’ll get a little bit. It’ll take some time for my ship to come in to pick us up. I’ take advantage of it.”

The huntsmen nodded. As they went off to rest, Raven went up to her daughter. “I assume you fought well today?”

Yang smiled. “Despite the stress, I’ve never felt better in months. What happened to you, dad, and Qrow? You guys seemed to pop up out of nowhere?”

“The three of us were dealing with snipers when we saw your teammates ship get shot down by a sniper. Me and Qrow fought him while Taiyang went after you guys to help. Turns out, he was a really good shot. Seems that he managed to hit your sister and friend.”

Nora popped in. “That was him? How did he even do that?”

“His name is Floyd Lawton.” Qrow interjected. “He better known as Deadshot: master marksmen and one of the deadliest men in the whole wide world. “I’m glad you two are ok. You need some rest.”

“Wow. What was he doing here?” Ruby asked.

“Don’t know, but I intend to find out.” Qrow said with acid in his voice. He met Floyd once and that one time was enough for him to hate him deeply. Now, he had to try and kill his niece.

Taiyang put his hand on his shoulder. “Take it easy, Qrow. It’s been a long day. Besides, I want first dibs on this man”

Qrow chuckled as he took out his flask. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Glad to see you back in action, Tai.”

The huntsmen all stayed with one another, chatting to help relieve the stress of the long day. Soon enough, Sun and his team came in to greet them. Sun raan up to Blake happily.

“Blake!!” He called. Blake shot up and ran to him.

“Sun!!” She crie back as they embraced. “I’m so glad to see you again.”

Sun smiled as he closed his eyes. “Me too. I’m glad your ok. Don’t ever leave like that again. You worried us all so much.”

“Well to be fair, you worried him the most.” Scarlet interjected. The rest of team RWBY and JNPR ran up to greet them.

“How’s it hanging, monkey boy?” Yang said with a grin., forcing all those around her to groan.

“Better now that I know that you guys are all safe. It’s been one helluva a day.” Sun said, before he finally realised something. “Hey, where’s Jaune? He wasn’t with you guys earlier. What happened to him?” 

Blake and Weiss were shocked. All of the fighting made them not notice that he wasn’t present. Soon enough, the entire group turned to Ruby, Nora, and Ren, who all shared a look of uncertainty in their faces.” 

“It’s...a long story. We’ll tell you guys later.” Ruby said hesitantly.

The adults, meanwhile, were watching as the young warriors reunited and were happily conversing about what happened. Taiyang had to smile.

“At least they can still be positive after what had happened.” He said

“They are for now, I hope they can keep their heads up from all that’s going to happen.” Raven said.

“They’re strong. I know they will all do great things.” Qrow finished.

As they were conversing, a car pulled up from the road leading to city hall, swerving around rubble and eventually parking. The car looked like a high performance SUV, one driven by rich people. Surely enough, all of the huntsmen noticed the car as it stopped by the Waynetech workers.

“Someone actually drove here despite an attack? Who the hell would’ve done that?” neptune exclaimed. 

The car door opened and when the driver came out, no one could believe their eyes. There, standing high and tall, was a handsome man in his early forties wearing a blue dress shirt with a tie and a grey vest over it and black dress pants. He was quite the big man and had black hair with some grey blended in and some stubble on his chin. Immediately, the Waynetech workers went over completely surprised with the man as he talked to them to make sure they were alright

“Blimey. Is that who I think it is?” Scarlet said softly.

“Yeah. That’s Bruce Wayne.” Weiss said with the air taken out of her breath.

Mr Wayne was currently talking to his workers, specifically a man wearing a grey suit with white hair, who he hugged happily to see that he was ok. As the man spoke, he pointed towards Ruby and the others, causing Mr Wayne to look over with to them with a look of amazement. Suddenly, he started walking towards the group!

“Oh my god. He’s walking towards us. Why is he walking towards us?” Ruby said frantically, not being able to grasp the concept of the richest man in the world walking towards them.   
“Calm down guys. Maybe it’s just a mistake.” Neptune said as he looked back, only to see no one else behind them. “Maybe not.” Neptune said.

Surely enough, Bruce Wayne walked up to them, stopping in front of Ruby, Yang, Nora, and Ren, who were all close together. “I was told that you four saved my workers from a White Fang attack. Is this true?” Bruce asked.

The four glanced at each other,trying to see who would speak. Finally, Ruby spoke up. “Y-Y-Yes sir.” She said in a high pitched voice. “We were only doing our job.” If one were to look at her right now, they might compare her to a young girl talking to her crush for the first time. Of course, Ruby had no feelings for the man, but she still was shocked that this was happening.

Bruce Wayne took each of their hands and shook them. “You guys saved my people from a hostage crisis. They can go home to their families now. I owe you all so much.” Bruce said with a warm smile.

The four huntsmen were completely speechless. Bruce Wayne, one of the most powerful men in the world, was shaking their hands and thanking them. It seemed like a dream came true for the four. Ren spoke up next. “It’s…an honor, sir. We were glad to help.”

Bruce chuckled. “Please, cut the formalities. Just call me Bruce.” He said as he looked to Yang. That’s one of our prosthetic arms. I’m glad we were able to help you. It suits you perfectly.

At this point, Yang would normally respond with a pun or witty joke, but this was no ordinary man. This was Bruce Wayne, and he only deserved the best for all he had done. “No problem, sir. We were happy to help.” She said, trying to maintain a calm face.  
Bruce smiled as he turned towards the others. “I bet that you all did a lot as well. Thank you all for your risking your lives. The world is a better place with you people around.” He said warmly.

Weiss spoke up next. “We’re glad to be able to help, Mr. Wayne.” She said with a bow.

“Ah, Miss Schnee. You’re a great singer and a fighter. If you were my daughter, I would be so proud to be your father.”

Weiss stuttered her next line. “Thank You. Al-Always...nice to meet a fan.” She said quickly.

Bruce nodded as he observed the damaged city. “Damn shame. Haven was always such a beautiful place. When I get back to Gotham I’ll have to start funding the reconstruction of the city.” He said as he turned to them. “Well, got to go back to my workers. I have to let them know that they’ll have the next few days off with pay. Thanks again.” Bruce said as he started to walk away. After taking a few steps, he turned around. “By the way, what’s your name?” He said while pointing to Blake.

Blake stood up straight. “Blake. Blake Belladonna.” She said

Bruce nodded. “Well, I have to say, Blake, you really shouldn’t wear the bow. Those ears are quite beautiful.” He said as he turned back.

Blake and everyone else’s eyes widened at that. “How...How did you know I was a Faunus?!!!”

Mr. Wayne merely looked back and smirked. “Lucky Guess.” he replied as he walked back to the group.

For a few second, the young hunters were completely speechless. Not only had he thanked them, but he discovered Blake’s secret merely a minute after meeting her. Sun could only say one thing.

“Damn.”

The members of STRQ walked up to them. “I’ve gotta say, didn’t think that Bruce Wayne himself would come here to thank you guys. You all look like you’ve just won the lottery.” Qrow said.

“This is the greatest day of my life.” Nora said softly, clearly blown away by what had just happened. She had no more time to speak as the Atlassian dropship arrived to pick them up. 

“Looks like our ride is here.” Raven said. Time to move, guys. We’re all soldiers now.”

The young hunters and huntress looked at each other and nodded with determined faces. The enemy had made their move. It was time to strike back. They all walked and boarded the airship with Ironwood. The craft took off moments later and flew towards the cruiser where the meeting would occur.

Bruce Wayne had just finished talking with his workers, who were all happy with the news they had just received, when his scroll rang in his pocket. He took it out to see the message that was sent to him:

Computer finished it’s scanning. We found him. -Alfred.

(Cue the ending horns of a Beautiful Lie.) Bruce’s face changed to that of a determined glare as he sent a message back.

I’m on my way.

Bruce put his scroll away and bid farewell to his workers as he got back in his car, turned around, and drove back down the broken road to get out of the city and to the heliport where he landed by aircraft. It was time to go home.

After all, he had an old friend to visit.

End Chapter.

Next Chapter: Jaune and Ozpin have a nice little talk. (Heh heh)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, Batfleck is officially part of this universe. As you can probably already tell, this confirms another certain hero in this story. And I can assure you that while we won’t see him again for a while, he will return and be quite the badass. As to why i chose Batfleck, let’s just say he was easily my favorite Batman to date and leave it at that. Seriously, he was amazing and I can’t wait for his solo film. You can probably guess what’s going to happen later in the story, but that means it will be incredibly exciting as well!!
> 
> Damn guys, ten chapters in, halfway through this part of the story, and I’ve come so far already. This was easily the longest chapter to date and I can’t be prouder of myself for getting this far. Thank you all for the support and praise. I’m so happy that I went through with all this and I can’t wait to write more for you guys.
> 
> In all seriousness, how awesome would it be if Ben Affleck was in RWBY? He would steal the show in every scene he was in!! Granted I know that this will and would never happen, but it’s still fun to pretend it being possible..
> 
> Review are always welcomed. I’m eager to hear your thoughts and critiques on my story. Please leave me a review and kudos if you're on AOA. I’ll see you guys next chapter for another gripping tale of Jaune Arc: Man of Steel!!!


	11. The Knight and the Headmaster

Chapter 11:The Knight and the Headmaster

 

(Two months before the year at Beacon began.)

 

It was a quiet afternoon in Arcadia, a small rural farm town located right in the middle of Mistral. The air was calm as the only sounds that took it up were birds chirping in the air. As the sun was about to set over the horizon, Jaune Arc watched leaning on a fence on a dirt road not to far from his house, wearing his black sweatshirt and jeans. This was one of Jaune’s favorite places in the whole world. It was always peaceful, had a perfect view of the sunset, and gave him time to think deeply.

 

And at this moment, he really needed the time.

 

In two months, he would be beginning his training to become a huntsmen at Beacon academy. It was truly an exciting time for the teenage boy, as well as a stressful one. An exciting one because he was finally going to be able to accomplish his lifelong dream of being a hero. A stressful one because he was going to be far behind compared to his classmates. He had no clue what he was going to do at the moment, but he had to have hope that it would work out in the end.

 

“Figured I’d find you here.” said a voice behind him.

 

Jaune turned around to see an older man wearing a brown coat, a flannel shirt underneath shirt, jeans, and brown shoes. He had darker blond hair than Jaune’s bright hair and was definitely a man that had been around for a while.

 

Jaune smirked. “You know me best, dad. I love watching the sunset everyday.”

 

Jack Arc walked over with a smirk of his own. “I know. You’ve always loved the sun ever since you were born. If I didn't know any better, I’d say you’re solar powered.” He joked, earning him a small chuckle from his son as he leaned on the fence next to him to watch it.

 

For a minute, neither of them spoke, almost as if they were waiting to see who would speak first. Finally, Jaune made his move. “Ok, what’s this about? You came over to talk to me about something, so let it out.”

 

Jack sighed. “I’m just worried about you Jaune. You’re about to go to a huntsmen academy without any training in fighting. It just seems like such a careless move.” He noticed that Jaune slumped over and buried his head in his arms. “Look, I’m your father. It’s my job to worry about you. Trust me, when you have a kid someday, you’ll understand.”

 

Jaune groaned as his head rose.. “Look, I know it’s risky, but believe me dad it feels...it feels so right to me.”

 

Jack turned to face his son. “Let me ask you something and please answer me with 100 percent honesty. Ok?” he asked as Jaune nodded. “Why do you think it’s right?”

 

Jaune took in a deep breath. “You know why. I’ve always loved the stories of huntsmen fighting Grimm and being heroes. They would save people and bring honor to their families, just like grandpa did before he past.” Jaune said in a way which his father couldn’t find even a smidgen of doubt in his voice.

 

Jack shook his head. “Jaune, I know you’ve always looked up to your grandfather but believe me, there was a good reason why he didn’t want me or any other Arc to become a huntsmen. Once you see what war is really like...he didn’t want anyone else to experience that.” He noticed Jaune still staring off with an annoyed face. “Ok, I’m not telling you to not do it. I get it, you want to help people out. The thing is, you don’t have to risk your life to do it. Farming can save lives too, you know.”

 

“I know, dad, but this feels different. It just feels like it what I need to be. Almost like...destiny.”

For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence. Then, Jack put his hand on his head and sighed. “Jaune, please tell me that you don’t believe that crap.”

 

Jaune looked confused. “What do you mean?”

 

Jack put his hand on his shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes. “Jaune, you chose what you are. Not me, not our ancestors, but yourself. Don’t ever feel like that you have to do something because of someone or something else. Understand me?”

 

Jaune stared at the man confused for a second. “What are you saying?”

 

“What I’m saying is that you’re just going to have to decide what you want to be, Jaune. Whoever that man is, good or bad, is going to change the world. Whether it be for one person, or the entire human race.” He said sternly as if he was teaching him a lesson. “Now, I’ll ask you again. Are you absolutely sure that this is what you want to do?”

 

Jaune thought to himself for a few seconds, contemplating what he had just heard. It definitely provided food for thought, but he decided to stick with it as he looked up to match his father’s gaze. “I’m sure, dad. I’m not doing this for destiny, but for myself.”

 

Jack Arc took his hand off his son and sighed before smirking. “Alright then. I believe you. Just try not to get your ass kicked too hard.” He joked

 

Jaune glared at him as he laughed. “I’m kidding. But seriously, if it doesn’t work out, don’t forget that you're always welcomed back here. Your mom and siblings will always be glad to see you.”

 

Jaune looked up to him and smiled. As he turned back to the horizon, he noticed the sun was just disappearing, the top barely over the horizon. “Well then, guess I caused you to miss you show. Sorry bout that.” Jack said truthfully.

 

Jaune chuckled. “It’s alright, dad. The best thing about a sunset is that there’s a show at the same time everyday.”

 

Jack smirked. “Well, then guess you’ll be ready to watch tomorrow’s show. Come on, your mother will flip if we don’t get home soon for dinner.” He said as he got up from the fence and began to walk back down the dirt road to the Arc family household.

 

Jaune got up and followed with a smile. He knew that being a huntsmen was the right thing for him. It felt great and it was up to him and him alone. No one else would change that. 

 

As father and son walked home together, the son remembered the valuable lesson for the day:

 

Your path is what you choose it to be. No one or nothing else can make it for you.

 

(Insert Line)

 

(Salem’s Palace. Present Day)

 

Jaune couldn’t help but remember that conversation with his father from time to time. Out of all of the chats he had with the man, that one was probably his favorite. It always gave him a smile whenever he remembered the conversation and would carry him through bad times.

 

Of course, it’s hard to smile when you’re being electrocuted by a maniac in a torture chamber.

 

Jaune was once again strapped to a table, being terrorized by Volgin, who Jaune had discovered upon meeting him as being someone who is an absolute sadist. Volgin regularly tortured the teen nightly just so he could hear him squeal do to the amount of volts going through his body. He couldn’t do anything about it either, mainly due to the powerful medal locks with a purple aura holding him down

 

It was now that Jaune remembered what his father said about him becoming a huntsmen and why his grandpa didn’t want anyone else to become a huntsmen. At first, Jaune always thought that it was a little ridiculous. What was wrong with being a guy that fights grimm. What could have possible made the man not want his descendants be that?

 

After all that had happened in the past few months and what was going on right now, Jaune could easily see why he was so determined to make sure no one would ever go into this line of work again.

 

Volgin was smiling with glee as he sent shockwaves through the poor boy’s body once again. “That’s right, little piggie. Squeal for me!!!!” he said with a cackle as he shocked the poor boy once again, this time earning him a louder cry in pain than ever before.

 

After electrocuting him for a solid 10 seconds, Jaune finally managed to catch a break. It seemed that Volgin was merciful, ever be it so slightly, after all. Volgin crossed his arms and observed the damage he had done to the boy. Oddly enough, he couldn’t scare his skin at all no matter how hard he tried to, something which infuriated him. He hated how he wasn’t able to leave physical marks on the kid. It wasn’t even like his aura was healing them, either. If anything, it was like his skin was as hard as steel, which made no sense at all.

 

Psychologically, on the other hand, Volgin was able to make him suffer. He already implanted himself into the young man’s mind as a force of terror. There was no doubt that he was able to make the boy feel fear.

 

As if his face wasn’t anymore a sight proof, his samp jeans were as well.

 

Volgin looked down to notice that the boy’s pants had become damper in the groin region. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why that was. When he finally saw that, Volgin grinned maniacally and laughed once again.

 

“There it is!!! That’s what I wanted to see!!” He said through laughter as he walked beside the boy to being right by his head. Jaune, despite the embarrassing situation, tried to give him a look of rebellion and hatred. “Aw! Don’t give me that look, boy. You’re hardly the first person I was able to make that scared. That being said, you just made my day by doing that!”

 

“Why? I don’t get it…Why?!! Why are you like this?!!” Jaune said.

 

Volgin chuckled. “Didn’t the queen tell you, herself. All of her followers have seen the darkest sides of humanity. To me, joining her was the best possible option to improve the world.”

 

“You’re a monster!!” Jaune snarled.

 

“Boy, if you’ve been through what I’ve been through, you’d know what the real monsters are.” Volgin said darkly. “Now then, how about we continue where we left off?” He said as he charged his hands up again. Jaune braced himself physically and mentally for what was about to happen.

 

*KNOCK!! KNOCK!!*

 

Volgin growled as he looked over to the door where someone was knocking on the other side. “Dammit.” He muttered to himself as he got up and went over to the dungeon door and opened it.

 

Jaune’s eyes widened at seeing who it was. Everytime he saw her, his heart broke. It made him miserable to see his partner and the girl he loved as a mindless zombie, obeying the being which caused all of the havoc in the world.

 

Volgin looked a little surprised at the visitor. “Oh, Nikos. I honestly wasn’t expecting it to be you. What business do you have with me?”

 

Possessed Pyrrha stared at Volgin with a look of annoyance. “I have no business with you. It’s the man you are torturing who I would like to speak to.”

 

Volgin raised an eyebrow at that. “Oh really. And why should I give you permission to speak to my subject?”

 

“Because our queen gave me permission to speak with him and I fully intend on using it. So unless you wish to insult our lord’s will, I highly suggest that you let me speak to him alone.”

 

Volgin growled at that. He hated to do it, but she had the advantage in this situation. He walked passed her and outside the torture chamber into the castle corridor. “10 minutes. Make it quick.”

 

Pyrrha walked in with a smirk. “That’s what I thought. Thank you Volgin.”

 

Pyrrha closed the door and locked it, leaving the moonlight as the only source of brightness in the room. She walked over to her knight and put her hand on his cheek. “Oh Jaune. Forgive me for what my mistress has done to you, but I assure you it is for the best intentions.”

 

Jaune softened as he looked at her purple eyes. “Pyrrha…”

 

Pyrrha gave him a sympathetic look as she stroke is cheek. “I have to say, I’ve missed you dearly. I’m so glad that lord Salem is giving us a chance to make things right.”

 

“What...what did she do to you?” Jaune asked sadly.

 

Pyrrha stopped stroking his cheek and turned away. “What she did to me, Jaune, was show me how the world is truly a messed up place. She showed me how the huntsmen were wrong and that we were nothing more than weapons of war for the so called protectors of the broken world we live in. Jaune, as hard as this is to believe, she wished to make the world a better place.”

 

“A better place? Pyrrha she attacked innocent people. Her followers destroyed Vale and ruined so many lives. How is that improving the world?”

 

“Believe me, Jaune, I too once felt that what they did was wrong. But after a while, after being showed the same things in a brighter light, I saw what she really wants: harmony.” Pyrrha said with a smile to herself.

 

Jaune couldn’t believe it. As if this conversation couldn’t get any more absurd, the girl he loved tried to defend the queen of evil of her actions by saying that she wants peace. This might be the single most horrifying thing Jaune has ever seen, so terrifying that he remained speechless.

 

This, of course, allowed Pyrrha to continue her speech. “And now, with you here, you can join our cause.”

 

Jaune’s jaw dropped at that statement. She couldn’t be serious. Even due to whatever Salem did to her, he couldn’t believe anything coming out of her mouth.

 

“Wha...what do you mean?” Jaune asked.

 

Pyrrha turned to him with a smirk. “Oh Jaune, Salem doesn't want to kill every human. Didn’t she tell you that she really pity’s people like us, people who suffered due to the actions of others.”

 

“Pyrrha, what the hell are you talking about?! She was the one who planned the attack on Vale. If anything, she was the one who made us suffer, not Ozpin.”

 

*SMACK*

 

Jaune recoiled in pain as his cheek was slapped by Pyrrha, who now beared a very angry look on her face. “DON’T YOU DARE MENTION THAT NAME!!!!!”

 

Jaune was appalled by what had just happened. He was so shocked that he didn’t speak back as Pyrrha continued.

 

“Do you remember what happened six months ago, on the day that Beacon academy fell, how we were talking behind the mess hall?” Pyrrha asked to which Jaune quickly nodded. “Well, you know why I was acting weirdly that day?”

 

Jaune took a second to process that question, which had remained a mystery to him for a long time ever since that day. “No, I can’t say that I do know why. I tried to tell you to do what you believed was right and you pushed me into a wall and ran off. I felt like I said something wrong.” Jaune said sadly.

 

Pyrrha gave a sad look. “You said nothing wrong, Jaune. If anything, you said everything right. There was nothing I wanted more than to be a huntsmen, to protect people from the Grimm and pure evil, but that was before I discovered what pure evil was.”

 

The boy shot her a confused look. “Wha-What do you mean?”

 

“Let me ask you this: What’s your favorite fairy tail?”

 

It was official: this conversation somehow managed to get stranger than any other one the boy had been in. Jaune didn’t know what to make of this, but he decided to answer. “Um, the tale of Caliburn, the blade of the gods. Why?”

 

“Ever heard of the tale of the four maidens?” Pyrrha said.

 

Jaune was so confused. None of this made any sense and yet he was about to answer “Yeah. Who hasn’t? I used to read that one to my sisters all the time. But seriously, what does this have to do with anything?”

 

Pyrrha turned away and took in a deep breath. “Jaune, as hard as this may be to believe, they are real.”

 

Silence overtook the room for a few seconds as the boy processed the information in his head. Finally, he answered.

 

“Um...what?”

 

Pyrrha couldn’t help but giggle at that Even after all this time, Jaune could still be adorable. “Believe me Jaune, I was just as shocked as you were when I first heard the news from Ozpin himself, but it’s the truth. They are in fact real. I was even more shocked when he asked me to become the next fall maiden.”

 

Jaune’s jaw dropped at hearing that news. As if hearing that the maiden’s were real wasn’t unbelievable enough, now Pyrrha told him that she was intended to inherit the maiden’s powers. That being said, Jaune still had some doubts about it. It sounded too absurd to be true, not to mention the fact that Pyrrha is under some sort of mind control. For all he knew, it could very well be false.

 

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know if I could believe you on all of this. It sounds ridiculous.”

 

“Believe me, I know it seems improbable, but I assure you that everything I say now is fact. I even have the proof to back it up.” She countered. Jaune remained silent hear her out. “Remember how on the night that Beacon fell, you followed me and Ozpin under the tower?”

 

“Of course. He asked me to defend you guys s you got into that machine with that other women. When you screamed in pain, I let my guard down and turned to face you. That was when Cinder came in and-”

 

!

 

Suddenly, everything clicked in the knight’s head. The machine, the power that flowed out of the dead women, Cinder absorbing it. It all made sense as jaune put the last pieces of the puzzle together. She was telling the truth all along.

 

“Oh...oh my god.” Jaune said to himself in complete shock.

 

Pyrrha held a look that said ‘I told you so.’ “Now you see the full picture, don’t you?”

 

Jaune forced himself to regain his composure as he spoke. “But...why you? Why did Ozpin chose you to do it.”

 

Pyrrha sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know myself. He merely told me that he believed that I was the one to do it. But I do know this.” She said as she walked away holding a very angry look. “He is to blame for all that has happened to us.”

 

Jaune couldn’t believe it. “But Pyrrha-”

 

“No Jaune!” She snapped as the metal objects in the room began to rumble and levitate. “Don’t try to deny the truth. This is how I was meant to spend my days according to him. My life was never in my control, I was meant to become his warrior, to leave everything I knew behind, to live a long miserable life of solitude!!! I”LL NEVER FORGIVE HIM FOR THAT!!!!!!!” She roared as the objects flew all over, scattering around and hitting the walls and the ceiling.

 

Jaune winced as Pyrrha too some deep breaths, calming down from her rage and regaining her composure. She then walked back towards him and had a look of sympathy.

 

“We all suffered because of him. Salem taught me that and changed me for the better. Now, I am free to chose my own path in life. Now, we both can chose.” She put her hand on Jaune’s cheek, stroking it softly like a lover would. “Join us, Jaune. We can be together again. We can make the world a better place. We can be happy. Is that not what you want?”

 

Jaune couldn’t take it. It was bad enough that Pyrrha was under Salem’s control, but he can’t help but believe what she was saying. All this time, he thought that Cinder and her followers were the ones to blame for the suffering they endured. Now, he find’s out that Ozpin has been keeping secrets from them. He figured that the man wouldn’t share everything he knew, but to hold a secret of this magnitude and cause the attack on Beacon was practically unforgivable. Why did they all have to suffer? All the misery and grief Jaune had experienced was now brought to him by two people: Salem and Ozpin.

 

And now, Pyrrha was asking him to join her. No, not Pyrrha, Salem’s Pyrrha, was now asking him to join her. It was absurd. Sure, he would be with the girl he loved, but it would never really be her. Jaune knew that the real Pyrrha would never side with people who would hurt the innocent like this. Not to mention, he would probably be turned into what Pyrrha had become: a shadow of her former self. Lastly, what would happen to the people he cared about the most: Ruby, his team, his friends, and his family. Would he be really willing to give them all up to serve someone who wants to ruin the world, someone who caused so much terror?

 

Like hell he would!!!!

 

“No.” he whispered.

 

Pyrrha bared a shock look, her red eyes widening. “What was that?”

 

Jaune had a tear come out of his right eye. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. You’re asking me to go against everything I believe in, to fight for something I can’t agree with. I love you Pyrrha and I would want nothing more but to be happy with you, but I don’t want it if this is the only way to achieve it. I won’t let people suffer while we live happily.” 

 

Pyrrha stepped,completely in shock over what she had just heard. Her face then hardened with anger as she spoke to him. “Is that so? We finally admit our attraction for each other, we finally have a chance to be happy and you still won’t take it?!! How could you still be such an idiot?!!!!” Pyrrha exclaimed.

 

Jaune winced, he hated how she berated him like that. It hurted him, but he had to stick to his beliefs. “Pyrrha, pleas-”

 

*SMACK*

 

Jaune reeled back again as he was slapped harder by Pyrrha, who now had tears coming out of her furious eyes. “I love you!! You love me!! It’s destiny!! Why can’t you just let it happen?!!!”

 

That was it. That was her mistake.

 

Jaune turned back around, eyes glowing red and sparking, bearing an enraged face. Pyrrha was taken aback as she saw his face “J-Jaune?”

 

“Destiny. You still believe...in destiny?!! After all that it’s done to us, you still believe in that crap?!!!” Jaune said as he pulled against his restraints, causing them to shutter.

 

Pyrrha took a few steps back. “Stop!!”

 

Jaune roared. “Destiny isn’t real!! IT”S BULLSHIT!!” Jaune screamed as he pulled on the metal restraints, tearing himself free from them with no struggle whatsoever. 

 

Pyrrha gasped. It shouldn’t have been possible. Those were some of the toughest metal restraints on the planet, meant to hold dangerous criminals. They even were spellbinded to prevent him from escaping.

 

And yet somehow, he managed to free himself.

 

Suddenly, the door slammed opened, revealing Volgin who upon seeing his prisoner free, immediately jumped into action and grabbed him by the throat.

 

“You shit!!! Do you have any idea how much I loved those restraints?!! I kill you for this!!” He said as he raised his right arm and launched it towards his face to give him a electric punch.

 

!

 

Volgin’s jaw dropped as Jaune caught his fist with his left hand at lightning speed and bared an enraged look on his face.

 

“ENOUGH!!” Jaune said as he threw him off and kicked him back into the hall and into the wall, leaving a hole where he went through.

 

!

 

Jaune winched as Pyrrha delivered another powerful chop to his neck. He immediately fell limp to the floor, unconscious. Pyrrha held a look of fright as she breathed in.

 

“What...what was that?” she thought to herself as Volgin came in a few seconds later.

 

“Egh...damn. Kid’s far stronger than I thought. He pushed me through that wall with little to no problem. Even with my aura it still hurts like hell” he said as he held his back. Suddenly a new voice entered the area.

 

“What’s this all about?” said a feminine voice. The two turned to see Cinder in the hall.

 

Volgin and Pyrrha shared a glance until the colonel spoke. “Just a minor interference by Arc. I’ll drug him so it won’t happen again.” Volgin said.

 

Cinder growled. “Don’t bother. Get ready to move him. Salem wants him o be in his cell now. She has the special restraints ready for him. Get to it.” She said as she walked away.

 

Volgin groaned as he picked the kid up. “Well, looks like your chat really did a number on him. May I give you some advice?” He asked, causing Pyrrha to nod. “Don’t do it again.” He said as he carried the knight away over his shoulder and out of the room, leaving Pyrrha alone with her thoughts.

 

What was that all about? Pyrrha thought to herself.

 

(Insert Line)

 

Jaune’s eyes slowly opened to a blurry darkness once more. He moaned to himself as he tried to remember what had happened. He had just pushed Volgin away somehow, not changing the fact that it was satisfying, and then he was knocked out, most likely by Pyrrha again.

 

Jaune awakened to him being chained to a wall of some dark room by none other than the colonel himself. He had an annoyed look on his face as he noticed that his victim had reawakened. 

 

“So, you're up again? You gave me quite the strike there boy. I’m honestly impressed that you were able to catch my fist.” He said verily. “That being said, that was a huge mistake for you to make. I guess I still was soft on you. I’ll have to be rougher with our next session.

 

Jaune scoffed. “Somehow, I’m not surprised that wasn’t your worst.” He said bitterly as Volgin finished with his bindings.

 

“Well, however the hell you got out earlier, it won’t happen again. These chains have a far more powerful spell on them to keep your aura weak and guarantee that you won’t move. Not even your cellmate has been able to escape them.”

 

Jaune perked up at that. “Cellmate?”

 

Volgin chuckled as he stood up and pointed towards his left, causing Jaune to look over to see someone he honestly did not want to see chained up to the wall with similar bindings. 

 

“O-O-Ozpin!!!!!” Jaune said in shock.

 

Ozpin looked up to reveal his bruised face to see his student held in a similar situation. The once hygienic man looked absolutely filthy, with a long, untrimmed beard. The once well known and proud man looked absolutely miserable and defeated. “M-Mr. Arc...thank the gods you're alive.” He muttered weakly.

 

Jaune was appalled. He truly thought the headmaster was dead after he and Pyrrha saw Cinder fly up the tower to the top. He would have been happy to see him alive had it not been from what he had just learned from Pyrrha,causing him to form an angry look on his face.

 

“Yeah, I bet you're glad to see one of your tools is still able to function.” He said bitterly.

 

Ozpin shot him an apologetic look. “Please...I need you to listen to me…”

 

“Oh, that’s all I need to hear: more lies!!! I’ve heard a lot already today, professor, stuff I really didn’t want to hear. What makes you think I want to hear anything else?!!” Jaune roared.

 

Volgin laugh as he got up and walked out of the cell. “Look’s like you two have a lot of catching up to do. Have fun boys!!” Volgin said as he slammed the door and locked it, leaving the two alone.

 

Jaune had to stare at the man with pure anger for what he had done before. But the man that Ozpin once was before was now gone. Now, the once proud headmaster was shirtless with scars from cuts and bruises from punches, no doubt given to him by Volgin. If it wasn’t for the hatred he held at the moment he would have felt sorry for the man.

 

“So...what do you possibly have to tell me?!” Jaune asked

 

Ozpin coughed a little before answering. “You have learned a lot of things since you arrived here, things that shouldn’t have happened, things that changed the world. “I would first like to say that I’m sorry.”

 

Jaune looked away. “I’m afraid that apology is a little too late.”

 

“Mr. Arc, I understand you hold what happened to Beacon and Pyrrha against, me but I beg you, please let me explain myself. I promise to answer all of your questions.” Ozpin said.

 

Jaune turned his face to look at him. He honestly didn’t know if he wanted to hear the truth or not. On one hand, this man has clearly held too many secrets from him and the rest of the world. On the other hand, he seemed to be willing to provide answers, given that there not more lies. Jaune took a few seconds to think before reluctantly nodding.

 

“Ok, but I want nothing but the truth.” Jaune said, to which Ozpin nodded. “The maidens, is it true that they are real?”

 

Ozpin nodded. “Yes. It’s true. The maidens that were part of the fairy tale are in fact real, living among humanity for hundreds of years. Over time, the powers of each maiden have been passed on from countless generations. I presume that you saw your partner here?”

 

“Kind of hard to miss her, considering the fact that I thought she was dead.” Jaune spat.

 

“Well, not to long before the school year began, the fall maiden was attacked by a rogue group of assailants. Not only have they managed to defeat her, but one of them managed to steal some of her power. Being that this was an incredibly powerful person, I knew that who ever struck against her would most likely come back to finish the job.” Ozpin explained.

 

“So you brought her to Beacon, putting the lives of students and civilians at risk?” Jaune said in growing anger.

 

“I know it may not seem like the most logical move, but I believed that it would be the last place they would look. I knew that Vale was a safer area with plenty of huntsman. Not to mention with James’s forces present, it seemed that we had the upper hand.”

 

“Well,” Jaune said. “Your so called safest place was overthrown and now, hundreds are dead and the world is in chaos. Great plan, professor. Now then, why Pyrrha?”

 

“Surely you know how formidable of a warrior miss Nikos is. Her status as a celebrated warrior and tournament champion easily made her the most trustworthy candidate for inheriting the maiden’s powers. Though it seems that it was not possible to get her the maiden’s power in time.” Ozpin said as Jaune remembered Cinder killing the maiden.

 

Jaune closed his eyes, trying to gather his thoughts as he wondered what else he could say. “Why? Why did it have to be like this? Surely there had to be another way, one without risking so many lives.”

 

Ozpin felt terrible. He knew how risky it was to bring Amber to Vale, but he thought that i was for the best. He hoped that Pyrrha could acquire the maiden’s powers and that would throw Cinder off a little bit for his forces to rethink. Instead, Vale had fallen, thousands have suffered, and the champion was under his greatest enemy’s control.

 

He made many mistakes in the past, but none of them came close to being on this level.

 

“I’m sorry.” Ozpin said miserably as a tear came out of his eye. “I’ve done so much harm to you, miss Nikos, and everyone in Vale. My mistake was one that I’ll never be able to live down.” 

 

Jaune didn’t want to look at him, he didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that he heard the man’s apology. He really didn’t think it was possible to forgive him for what he has done, or for anyone to for that matter. Still though, the had to talk to him, as disgusting as it may be.

 

“Just save it. We have enough problems at the moment.” Jaune said sourly. “That thing, she said her name was Salem. What the hell is she exactly?”

 

Ozpin looked up with interest. “So, she decided to reveal herself to you?” he asked to which Jaune nodded. “That thing, is the queen of the Grimm, the one who created them and has been the greatest enemy of Remnant for over thousands of years.”

 

“I know, she told me that. What I want to know is why we never heard of her? You two seem to have quite the history.”

 

Ozpin sighed, knowing damn well that he was about to reveal a huge amount of classified information to a student. In the end, however, he knew that he had no choice but to reveal the truth.

 

“In all honesty, I hoped to never have to tell anyone about her in the first place. She had been gone for so long I thought that she would not return again for far longer than I had anticipated.”

 

“But you knew she wasn’t dead?!!” Jaune exclaimed angrily.

 

“Mr. Arc, me and the grimm queen have more of a history than you could possible imagine. I was hesitant to go after her.” Ozpin said.

 

“How far back could you two possible go?!” Jaune spat.

 

“We were lovers!!”

 

...

 

...

 

“…What?” Jaune said quietly.

 

“Mr Arc, as hard as it may be to believe, I am far older than you think. I have walked amongst this world ever since mankind humbly began and I can tell you that Salem has as well.”

 

Jaune was truly shocked, something that had became a trend with him recently. It seemed like one bombshell of a revelation after the next. There being a grimm queen, Pyrrha being alive, the maidens existing, and now Ozpin confessing that he was the queen’s lover. What a hell of a time he was having here.

 

“So, you fell in love with that..thing?”

 

Ozpin nodded. “Yes, although I wouldn’t call her a thing. After all, she used to be human as well.”

 

Jaune’s eyes widened. “Seriously.” He said blown away.

 

“Yes, you see Mister Arc, magic has been around since the beginning of time and the maidens were far from the first ones to acquire it. In fact, me and Salem were the first two to harness the power of magic. You see when humanity began to leave it’s mark on Remnant, the gods decided that they wanted to bestow a gift on the two most worthy beings. Me and Salem were the ones that they decided to bless.

 

“Why you two?” the knight asked.

 

“To be honest, that is a question I still don’t have the answer to this day. All I know is that they found us worthy and gave us these gifts in order to lead humanity to an era of peace and prosperity...that was until she ruined our dream for mankind.”

 

“What happened?” Jaune said, eager to learn more.

 

Ozpin looked at Jaune with a serious look that could be described as a glare. “Let’s just say...she found out how evil mankind could be after she witnessed a couple of...incidents. She then decided to abandon her hope for humanity, deciding to create her own spark of life, one that she deemed fit to rule over Remnant. You have already met them.”

 

It wasn’t hard to figure out what Ozpin was talking about. “The grimm.”

 

“Precisely. For hundreds of years, I have been leading the fight against the grimm queen in hope of trying to show her that men are still good, once believing that the women I loved was still savable. I fear that it was an ill-fated dream, however, as she was able to defeat us.” Ozpin said hopelessly.

 

Jaune was stunned. To see the headmaster in such a broken state was something he hoped to have never seen. In a way, he felt somewhat sorry for Ozpin. Despite his mistakes, he still had the best intentions for mankind. Sure, he still held a grudge against the man, but it was lessened to some degree.

 

“Professor...you can’t be so sure that it’s over.”

 

Ozpin looked at the boy stunned. “You still believe we have a chance?”

 

Jaune actually let out a smirk. “To be fair, I was pretty broken after Beacon fell up until I was captured. I guess seeing Pyrrha alive helped me regain some hope. Not to mention, I don’t think she’s entirely gone.”

 

Ozpin looked confused. “What do you mean?”

 

“Well this may sound a little odd, but while I was still unconscious from Salem, I had a strange dream. Pyrrha and I were briefly reunited and I thought that I was having some near death vision or something. But as the dream ended, I could hear her scream ‘Find Me.’ I know it sounds a little odd, but I can’t help but feel like that it was more than just a dream.” Jaune said.

 

Ozpin though for a minute before letting out a response. “It does seem puzzling, but I suppose it could be possible. You and miss Nikos always did hold a strong bond with one another. Not to mention, I believe that she was the one who managed to unlock your aura, correct?”

 

Jaune nodded. “Yes, I’m guessing you watched that happen?” 

 

Ozpin nodded. “Yes. Now, when one person unlocks another person’s aura, the two are bonded together by their auras. Now, there have been some case in which some huntsmen have a unique bond with whoever activated their aura. Granted, this is rare and most people would not know if it’s true or not, but the possibility still remains.

 

Jaune, for once in six months, looked hopeful “So there is a chance we can save her!!”

 

Ozpin leted out a chuckle. “I suppose it’s only right for young ones like yourself to be hopeful. That reminds me, what ever happened to the rest if your teammates?”

 

Jaune froze as he looked down with a guilty look. After the fall, the rest of us gathered with Ruby to come to Haven to track down Cinder. Ruby wanted to seek justice after what had happened to her team.”

 

Ozpin felt his stomach writhe as he heard Jaune said that last sentence. “What happened?” He asked, fearing the answer.

 

Jaune sighed. “To be completely honest, everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. Yang lost her arm and with it her motivation, Blake rane away after what happened to Yang, and Weiss was taken home by her father. Ruby was the only one who could fight and she left the safety of her home and family to bring Cinder to justice.” Jaune said with a smile

 

It was Ozpin’s turn to smile now. “Even in these dark times, she still is as faithful and determined as when I first met her. I’m glad to hear that some people have hope. They need it.” 

 

Jaune nodded as he chatted with his headmaster. As he answered that question, another thought entered his head. A thought that he had wondered about for a while, but forgot about it in the heat of the moment. One that had been itching through his head since he was captured.

 

“Professor,” He asked. “If Salem wants to defeat humanity, why she capture me? Why does she want me on her side?”

 

Ozpin smile faded as he heard that question. “To be honest, I’m sure it's the same reason she sparred miss Nikos: she wants to see as many of my friends and allies turn against me and join her as possible so she could prove that I lost. I hope that you would never join her intentionally.”

 

Jaune shook his head. “Never, and I doubt Pyrrha was so willing to switch over either. She had to put up a fight.

 

“Indeed. I could hear her screaming in pain from the treatment. She worked on her right down the hall from we are now for . Salem wanted to be sure that I would hear her scream.” Ozpin muttered sadly.

 

Jaune shivered at hearing that. He remembered hearing Pyrrha scream the night Beacon fell when she was inside that machine. He could only imagine what it was like to constantly hear her in pain over and over again with no way of preventing it. The mere thought of it made him sick.

 

“Ok, professor. I have one more question for you. How are you alive? I remember seeing Cinder fly up the tower.” Jaune asked.

 

Ozpin sighed. “It’s true. Cinder Fall was able to defeat me. I’m afraid all of the years out of combat has left me in an unprepared state for battle. I attempted to do my best to defeat her, but I’m afraid it was not enough.”

 

“I’m guessing she teleported you here as well? I’m honestly surprised Salem hasn’t had you killed yet.” said Jaune

 

“Believe me, Mr. Arc, she wants nothing more than to see me miserable and broken. I fear that she will succeed in achieving her goals. She has outsmarted me and it has led to so much destruction and death and I fear more will come. Only when she sees me truly defeated will she take my life.”

 

“Hmph. I’m guessing you two didn’t part on the best terms?”

 

“You couldn’t be more correct in making that statement.” Ozpin said sadly.

 

Jaune, picking up that this was a touchy subject, decided that that would be enough off asking Ozpin questions for tonight. Despite their being no window he could tell from how his body felt that it was late and honestly, he was tired from all of the crap that occurred. Even though the conditions were less than ideal, he felt he could fall asleep at any moment now.

 

“Well I need a nap. I hope I can get some good sleep. Hehe. It’s funny.” He said.

 

Ozpin looked perplexed. “What is?”

 

“For someone so smart, it seemed like a stupid move for her to try and turn me to her side of all people. Oh well. Good night professor.” Jaune mumbled tiredly as he quickly fell asleep in a record amount of time.

 

Ozpin sighed, not because of his actions, but because what the boy had said right before he slipped into unconsciousness. Oh Mr. Arc, if you knew the truth, you’d understand perfectly why she wants you on her side. He thought to himself as he decided to fall asleep as well. It was a long and tiring day and he had no idea what tomorrow would bring.

 

Whatever it was, he wasn’t looking forward to it.

 

(Insert Line)

 

Pyrrha walked down the corridors of the fortress, looking for the area lord Salem would most likely be at the moment. She was not one for questioning her mistress, but after what she had seen, she needed answers.

 

She didn’t get it. She had never seen Jaune once do something of that magnitude. Breaking out of metal restraints and blocking a powerful punch from a giant man like Volgin, not to mention kicking him away like he was nothing at all. She always figured that Jaune had a lot of potential, but not even she could have seen that coming.

 

Amazing. It had to have been his semblance, yet I have never seen or heard of a semblance with any power like that before. Perhaps lord Salem would know the answer. She thought to herself as she approached the giant doors leading into the throne room. As she approached them, she could vaguely hear the sound of people conversing from inside. One was lord Salem while the other sounded like a male in his twenties, someone Pyrrha had never heard before. She decided it was best to wait until they were finished, all the while deciding to put her ear to the door in an attempt to listen in.

 

“My men have been fighting to their limits for your cause, a cause that we don’t know anything about, a cause that we never wanted to be a part of in the first place! It’s time we learn the truth.” The younger male said threatenly.

 

“You will learn when I am ready to tell you, Taurus. Until then, you will follow my orders fluently and without any objection. Now, begone!! I have another visitor I need to chat with.” Salem said, clearly not intimidated by the man known as Taurus. “Pyrrha, you may enter now.

 

Pyrrha jumped back in mild surprise though she was honestly somewhat expecting this. Salem was always able to tell when someone was trying to get something past her. Clearly, she knew the spartan was outside the entire time, waiting for her. Pyrrha decided not to hesitate any longer as she took in a deep breath and opened the doors.

 

Salem was sitting on her throne with the wolf grimm by her side as a bull faunus with red hair and a grimm mask was walking towards a red portal in the middle of the throne room. He briefly looked at Pyrrha before muttering something to himself and disappearing through the vortex, which closed as soon as he exited. Salem gave a smirk at seeing her follower.

 

“Miss Nikos, what a pleasant surprise.” She said sarcastically. As Pyrrha walked in and closed the doors. “I must say, I do not appreciate your desire to eavesdrop on our conversation.”

 

Pyrrha quickly bowed as she walked in front of the throne. “Forgive me, my queen, I was hoping to ask you about something, but then I overheard the conversation as I approached the door. I got curious and wanted to hear what the disturbance was all about.” 

 

Salem chuckled. “Do not concern yourself with it. It was merely a negotiation with an associate of ours. Now then, you have something to tell me?”

 

Pyrrha nodded. “Did anyone tell you what had happened with Jaune and Volgin in the dungeon?”

 

“Why yes, I am aware of the altercation that occurred down there. I presume this discussion is about that very thing?” Salem said as she stroked the wolf’s head.

 

Pyrrha nodded again. “Why yes. I hoped to ask you for your insight. Jaune was able to break free from his restraints and toss Volgin aside like he was nothing despite being weakened by your magic. I’m unable to see how this could very well be possible. Is this his semblance?”

 

Salem looked at her with a nonchalant look while petting her pet. “I’ll answer that question with a question of my own: why do you think Ozpin allowed Arc to attend Beacon?”

 

Pyrrha looked perplexed. She had completely forgotten that Jaune forged his transcripts to enter Beacon and enroll as a huntsmen. Now that she thought about it, it did seem unusual that Ozpin allowed the boy to enter. Despite her grudge against the headmaster, she couldn’t deny that he was intelligent, easily one of the smartest men on Remnant. He definitely didn’t seem like one that was easily fooled.

 

“I’m...not sure. I always assumed that he just saw something in Jaune.” She said truthfully.

 

“What if I told you...that the boy you love has more to him than you know...than he knows?” Salem said.

 

Now Pyrrha was really confused. What could she possibly mean by that? More to Jaune than she thought? She knew him practically better than anyone else around other than his family. She had to know more. 

 

“Wha...what are you getting at?” She asked, somewhat dreading the answer.

 

“It’s quite simple actually. Mr. Arc holds a special power inside of him, one that only Ozpin and a few others were really aware of the entire time. Ozpin allowed him to attend his school without any prior training, hoping to utilize his abilities to their full potential. Once he would be ready, he would no doubt be used against me and my children.” Salem said 

 

Pyrrha had a look of horror inscribed on her face. “Yo-You don’t mean..?!”

 

Salem had a look of sympathy as she answered Pyrrha. “Yes. Ozpin wanted to use Jaune as a weapon, similarly to how he wanted to use you.”

 

Pyrrha was horrified. The man she loved, force to use his abilities for a monster like Ozpin. She couldn’t believe that someone would take a student and turn them into his own tool for battle. It made her furious.

 

“That...that can’t be true. How could he do such a thing?!!” She exclaimed.

 

“Would you believe me if I said he was not the only one he allowed to enter as well? Someone you know very well?”

 

!

 

Pyrrha was caught off guard by that. “Who else could he have wanted?”

 

Salem cocked an eyebrow up, almost as if she was confused that she couldn’t figure it out. “I’ll give you a hint: she younger than any of you and she is fast.”

 

Pyrrha got it right away as she once again looked shocked. “Ruby?”

 

Salem nodded. “Miss Ross is a powerful fighter, but Ozpin wouldn’t have allowed her to attend beacon early on her skill alone. He must have had a good reason to do so.”

 

Pyrrha tried to take all of this new information inside. “I...never thought about it that way. What sold make her so special?”   
“She holds an ancient power within her that only appears once in every generation. It is an ability that allows her to combat my children with little to no ease. She does not know how to control it properly, yet. This makes her a crucial part of Ozpin’s forces, one that we must not allow to be us against us.” Salem said as she got up and walked towards Pyrrha.

 

Pyrrha looked very troubled by this news. First Jaune, now Ruby, what would happen next? “Does this mean...she has to be neutralized?” She asked hesitantly.

 

Salme looked at her with a sad look as she put her hand on Pyrrha’s right cheek. “While I hope it would never come to that, it may very well be a possibility.” She said, causing the girl to look conflicted, which she noticed. “Enough about that, for now we must focus on persuading Arc to our forces.”

 

Pyrrha snapped out of it and looked at her standing up straight and ready. “Of course, what did you have in mind, my queen?”

 

Salem smirked. “Well, judging by what transcribed earlier in the dungeon, it seems that Mr. Arc holds some bitterness towards Ozpin but is still not willing to lose faith in his ways. I believe that the key to win him over is you.” She said as she motioned to Pyrrha to walk with her.

 

“I see. Couldn’t you use the same spells to free me from Ozpin’s grasp on him?” The spartan asked.

 

“I fear not. His powers make him a far tougher shell to crack than you. If you were to interact with him in a certain way, I believe it could be possible to lower his defenses, allowing me to successfully free him.” She said as they went to the doors and opened them.

 

“What did you have in mind?” Pyrrha said with uncertainty.

 

Salem grinned. “Let’s just say you might have to get your hands dirty.” She said as the throne room doors closed, leaving the wolf grimm to lie down and sleep in peace

 

(Insert Line)

 

Meanwhile, in a deeper part of the castle, a laboratory was barely alive as the light of a terminal screen was the only thing keeping the area lit. Among other things in the lab was an operating table, cabinets with surgical tool and medical supplies, vials of dust, and giant cryotubes with all different kinds of grimm. Some of the grimm were alive and sleep while others were dead, somehow not disintegrated oddly enough. The cause of their deaths weren’t hard to pinpoint mainly due to the large missing pieces of their bodies and flesh lined with traces of burns and marks of being frozen. At the desk of the computer was a man in his early 30s with brown hair and glasses wearing a white lab coat and black pants. He clicked on a file, allowing him to record a message.

 

“Journal entry #47. Today's experiment on infusing dust into grimm bodies showed some sign of success, but ultimately is still a work in progress. Subject was a young creep which had fire dust infused into its bloodstream. The creature lived for a few minutes after awakening and was acting normally, but spontaneously combusted soon after.” said the man

 

“I fear that lord Salem is getting impatient with me. Despite the signs of success, she is clearly not pleased with how slowly the project is maneuvering. It’s either that, or she is taking out her anger on me. After all, our contact in the White Fang failed to comply with the plans in attacking Haven, leading to our goals coming up short. I knew we wouldn’t properly trust him, but she still has some faith in him regardless. In retrospect, I’m hoping he fails again so we could end him and his pack of animals.” he said bitterly.

 

“As for my other assignment, the search for meta-humans is proving to be quite fruitless. The other three maidens have proven to be quite experienced in covering their tracks. After all, the only reason we found the fall maiden was due to her inexperience. I hope the drones will pick them up soon enough.” he said as he opened another file, which contained an image of a brown haired young man with hazel eyes and wearing a grey sweatshirt and jeans popped up.

 

“As for our other target, he is far more reckless. We are able to pick him up once in awhile and try to take him under our wing Unfortunately, he still seems to be one step ahead of us. Everytime we think we have him, he manages to get away and disappear for a while. I feel that this annoys lord Salem as well. Should he manage to start fighting us, he could be a problem. Just a couple of months back, he was hiding out in the deserts of Vacuo. Now, we his current location is unknown. We do know one thing on him, however, and that is his name: Thomas Paczolt”

 

“Anyways, it’s been a long day and i am quite tired. Volgin torturing that kid and all of the tension around here has given me quite the headache. I don’t know what Salem wants with him, but I feel as though it has something to do with the resentment of our prisoner. This is Dr. Kirk Langstrom signing off.” He said as he ended the recording and turned off the computer.

 

End Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: The planning for the counterattack begins.  
> Well now, I bet you all didn’t see that coming. The character Blake met in chapter 2 is in fact a meta-human. As for which one, I have a surprise for my readers: You Guys get to CHOSE!!! That’s right, the DC superhero that my character will be in the story will be entirely up to you guys. I want to see you guys tell me your suggestions in the reviews for the next few chapters. Keep in mind that the hero will be modified so he won’t be too op.
> 
>  
> 
> So, let's get to the elephant in the room: Volume 4’s premiere. I bet you’re all wondering what I think so far. Well, I hate to say this, but I didn’t watch it. In all honestly, I lost interest in the series at this point. As for why, I have a few reasons, but won’t list them here. Don’t worry, though, for I assure you that I will still write this story all the way through. I made a promise to you guys and I intend to fulfill it.
> 
>  
> 
> In other news, man did we get a lot of superhero trailers. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Wonder Woman both look awesome and Logan, holy shit does it look good. I feel like 2017 is going to be one of the best years for cinema it Star Wars, Justice League, and all of the marvel films coming out.
> 
>  
> 
> As for Kirk, don’t expect him to be man bat in this story. That was merely an easter egg for you guys. What can I say, I’m a huge DC nerd.
> 
>  
> 
> As always, reviews are welcome. If you are on Archive of our Own, leave me a kudos. I look forward to your reviews and thoughts on the story.


	12. Author's Update: Where I've Been.

Author’s Update: Where I’ve been.

Well...shit. I royally fucked up, haven’t I? It’s been five months since I last updated this story and man, I honestly feel like an huge jackass for doing nothing. I know a lot of you have probably been very eager in seeing what I would bring to the table next in my tale. Today, I just wanted to let you guys know where I have been, why I haven’t uploaded, what convinced me to come back, and future plans for the story. For those of you who were looking on eagerly for a new chapter, I apologize as today will not be the day that you receive it.

First things first, I’m sorry. I have been so neglectful of this story for the past couple of months due to personal matters and utter laziness. I know what you’re all thinking: I certainly do this crap a lot. And...well you’re not wrong for thinking that. Laziness has always been a huge problem of mine and every time that I say I’m gonna start writing, I usually set a goal to write a certain amount, get caught up in other things, and end the night by thinking to myself ‘You know what, just do it tomorrow. They can wait a little longer.’ But I will admit that I have taken this way too far with my laziness and for that, I apologize greatly.

I am, however, willing to say that laziness was not the only cause for my hiatus. I won’t lie, the last couple of months haven’t been the easiest for me. For starters, there has been a huge amount of tension in my household. You see, my brother graduated from college last may and has had trouble finding a job for a while. This has caused some discourse between him and my father, who isn’t exactly the most patient and calm person in stressful situations. As a result, the two have been going at for the last couple of months. It was only till November that things really got out of hand. Every two weeks, something went down where my brother pissed my father off, he got furious and went on a rant, my mother stepped in to defend him (causing even further discourse), everyone would be stressed, apologies were made, and rinse and repeat. One night in particular was so bad that I had to leave with a friend of mine to get out of there and wait for things to calm down. It made it impossible for me to write due to the stress going on in my home and often made me forget about my promise to Ryan and you guys. Fortunately, my brother finally got a job a few weeks back, so now things seemed to have finally calmed down.

Another reason that I have been so neglectful is that school has recently started up again. I have been working my butt off in college, doing assignments and even directing a PSA for my TV Studio Production course. As if school didn’t keep me busy enough, I also have to balance my work schedule out with it. I basically go to either school or work six out of seven days a week, some days doing both. Even when I’m home, I often have homework to do. So, when I do finally get some free time to myself, the last thing I felt like doing was writing some more considering how much I do it in school. Instead, I find myself wanting to hang out with friends or play some games rather than trying to write.

The last reason I have been so neglectful is how angry I have been with the RWBY community. A few months back, a fellow writer of messaged me about how he was attacked on DeviantArt by some toxic fans after giving an opinionated piece of how he felt the show was going down in quality. The attacks left him so devastated, that he considered suicide. This left me so furious at the community for a while that I honestly almost didn’t want anything more to do with it after I heard what had happened. As you all already know, I don’t watch the show anymore mainly due to similar feelings and I am not afraid to vocalise my thoughts. If there is one thing I truly can’t stand, it’s people who think that if you don’t have the same opinion as them, that makes you the one at fault. Anyways, the incident left a bad taste in my mouth and I just didn't want to think about it. Fortunately, he is alright and is still writing strong.

All of these things combined with my laziness have caused me to neglect the story for the past five months. I hope you guys will understand what has been going on and are willing to forgive me one more time for my mistake. I still don't feel like I deserve to have such a big following after my inexcusable behavior.

Now then, I suppose I should tell you guys what convinced me to come back. Well, a week ago I was message by a writer asking if I was still working on this story. I of course responded to him by saying I was, just really busy with school work. He said that he understood and then mentioned something that caught me by surprise: a lot of his marines were wondering what i have been doing. Curious, I asked him what he meant by marines and if he was in the army and, to my surprise, he was!!! This totally caught me off guard as I never would have imagined U.S. marines liking my work. I was so overjoyed that I told him I would get to work right away. Seriously, I’m still surprise by this event.

The other main thing that convinced me to start writing again was a recent film I saw. Over the last few months, I have been watching movies and reading more stories, trying to see techniques done by filmmakers and writers and see how they could influence my work. Just last week, me and my church group went to see Logan on opening night. All I can say was this: wow. This was easily one of the best movies I have ever seen and a film I would happily recommend to anyone who wants to see a good action/drama film. Seriously, it exceed my expectations in every way, shape or form. This movie in particular, along with the Marine messaging me, has finally brought me back from writer's block and ready to write again!!

So, that's basically where I have been for the past couple of months. I hope you guys can understand where I have been and why I left the field for so long. Now that that’s out of the way, I think it’s only right that I unveil my upcoming plans for this month.

First, I want to say that spring break is coming up for me next week, meaning that I’ll be off from classes all of next week. With this in mind, I plan to finish writing the chapter that’s been in development hell and release it next week. I want to thank you guys for being so patient and will do my best not to let you all down. I just need to get through these next two days of classes and I’ll be officially on break by Friday!!

Secondly, as some of you may know, an anniversary for a certain film is coming up. I am of course talking about the film that inspired this fic: Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice!! I am very aware of how divide many people are on the film and, while more seem to have seen it in a different light,there are still plenty of people who still see it as a terrible movie. I plan to write a review of the film, analyzing it’s themes and explaining why it has become one of my favorite movies of all time by the end of the month. I only need to find a good site to write my review on as I’m sure that a fanfiction site won’t allow it.

I want to once again apologize for my neglectfulness to this fic and hope to never go through a long hiatus like this ever again. It took me a while, but I was convinced on how much people like this fic and were eager to see more. Thank you all for your support over the last couple of months, and I look forward to updating my work soon!!


	13. Chapter 12: Taking Action.

Chapter 12: Taking Action

When Lie Ren woke up, it was the morning after the Battle of Haven City. After the fight, the huntsmen had been invited back onboard General Ironwood’s cruiser to rest after all of the fighting. After all of the craziness that had occurred in the past couple of days, he couldn’t deny the fact that they needed it.

Many thoughts went through the boy’s mind as he got up from the bunk bed he and Nora shared, the bubbly girl taking the top bunk the instant they arrived. He stretched in his black ginny tee and green pajama shorts as he adjusted to the morning. The spare sleeping quarters provided to the huntsmen by the general were hardly the best, but after traveling throughout Remnant and sleeping outside in a sleeping bag by a fire for sixth months, it was safe to say that it was a huge improvement. 

He couldn’t help but glance towards Nora, his partner and life-long friend, who had just been shot yesterday. It was strange. Less than a year ago, they had been training at a prestigious academy in order to defend the world. Now, they were at war, lives have been lost, and the team he had grown to love had been split down to two members. The ninja was always weary about being calm in times of peace, but even he would have never guessed that this would happen, not to mention in such a short amount of time.

Ren sighed as he put his hand on Nora's shoulder, deciding it was time to wake her up. “Nora. Hey, Nora.” 

“Mmmm, five more minutes.” she muttered as she rolled on her side, her back facing him.

Suddenly, a knocking sound was made at the door of their quarters, prompting the ninja to look over and walk towards the door. He pressed a button on the wall, causing it to unlock and electronically slide open to reveal a young girl they knew pretty well.

“Morning Ren. Slept well?” Ruby asked.

Ren nodded. “Better than I have in the last six months. I assume you have as well?”

Ruby nodded. “Absolutely. It was great sleeping on an actual bed again. Not to mention the fact that my team was there to keep me company.”

Ren looked down with a somber look after hearing that. He couldn’t help but once again think about how his team was gone. The only one that was really left for him was his childhood friend. Ruby, noticing Ren’s change in attitude and realizing her mistake, tried to make it up immediately. “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

Ren put his hand up to stop her. “It’s alright, Ruby. I understand your happiness and I feel the same about your reunion. I’m glad to see you four are back together.” he said with a smile.

Ruby smiled back as she motioned them to move. “Come on. They’re serving breakfast upstairs in a little bit.”

Nora shot up as she heard that statement. “Will there be pancakes?” She asked eagerly.

Ruby shrugged. “I’m not sure that there will. I don’t know what soldiers eat.”

“They better. We’ll be right over.” Nora said as she jumped down from the bed and regained her energy instantly.

Ren chuckled as he heard that. Even in times of crisis, Nora was still Nora. He was glad to see that she hasn’t changed that much.

“Alright, I’ll see you guys soon enough.” Ruby said as she started walking down the hall and out of their sight. Ren closed the door and turned around to face Nora. As he faced her, he noticed her slouched figure and an uneasy look on her face, prompting concern for his friend. 

“Nora, is everything alright?” he asked calmly.

Nora tried to stand up straight and look like her usual confident self as she blew a raspberry and laughed. “Am I alright? Of course I am. I feel better than ever in fact. Now, if you excuse me, I have to use the restroom.” She said as she turned around and walked towards the bathroom in their quarters. Before she could successfully move in, however, she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

“Nora, I’ve known you longer than anyone else in the whole world and among the many things I know about you, one of the biggest is that you are a terrible liar. Now what’s wrong?” He asked softly.

Nora sniffled as she turned around and hugged him. “I miss him. I miss Jauney. I’m so worried about him, Renny. We already lost Pyrrha and now we don’t know where he is. I can’t stand the fact that our team is so broken.” She wailed into his shoulder.

Ren was shattered. If there was one thing he hated above all else, it was seeing his Nora so upset. Nora was the heart of team JNPR. She would always be there to cheer people up on a bad day and make it so things weren’t nearly as bad as they were made out to be. Seeing Pyrrha gone was one thing, but losing Jaune…

Jaune was always special to her. She loved the blond goofball as her leader and friend. Seeing him so broken, insulting her, and running away in horror for what he had done to them was just too much. Even Ren felt some sympathy for the boy. Sure, there was no reason for him to go and say the stuff he said, but that didn’t change how he felt about him. Ren knew he had to do something to cheer his friend up.

“Hey, it’s alright. I’m sure he’s ok.” Ren said trying to comfort her. 

“But what if he’s not? Pyrrha’s already gone, what’s to say he isn’t dead already?” Nora cried as his efforts were in vain from a first impression.

“Nora, it’s Jaune. He got into Beacon and he had steadily improved over time despite how behind he was. Besides, Pyrrha wasn’t killed by the Grimm. Ruby told us that. I’m sure wherever he is, he is alive.” He said.

Nora sniffled as she looked him in the face, tears still coming out. “Please, don’t leave me. I can’t bare to see you go too.”

Ren was heartbroken. He hoped to never have to here Nora say something like that. “Nora, don’t ever say that. I’ll never leave you.”

“Promise?” Nora asked.

“I promise.” He said with a smile as he brought his pointer finger to her nose. “Boop.”

Nora giggled through tears at being booped by her friend as he hugged him tightly. “Thanks, Renny. I’m glad I met you and that you’re my best friend.”

Ren blushed at those words, a very rare sight which Nora fortunately didn’t notice as he hugged her back. It wasn’t like him to blush, he rarely ever got embarrassed by anything. Of course, the things that did embarrass him all revolved around one factor: Nora Valkyrie.

Ren wouldn’t be one to admit it, but Nora had been growing on him more and more since the day they met. It was funny in all honesty. They were practically opposites in so many ways and yet, somehow against all odds, they got along with each other perfectly. When one of them was sad, the other was sad. When one of them was happy, the other was happy and so on and so forth.

“Anytime, Nora.” Ren said as they parted. “Now then, let's go get breakfast. I feel it’s going to be a long day.”

Nora chuckled. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”

\-----------------------------------------

“So let me get this straight: Blake broke you out of your home, helped you get on a freighter as her hostage, and threatened an Atlas military commander with killing you should they try anything dumb?” Yang asked with excited grin in the mess hall of the ship, currently occupied by the older girls of team RWBY and some soldiers who were confused with what kids were doing on board their ship.

Weiss sighed as she hid her face. “Yes, Yang. That’s what had happened.”

Yang fell back on her chair with a laugh at hearing that news. “That has got to be one of the greatest things I have ever heard.” She said as she picked herself back up.

Weiss groaned. “Will you please keep it down? Your drawing attention to ourselves.”

Yang, calming down for the story, giggled a little more at that. “Sorry. I just can’t believe it no matter how many times I was told. That’s just gold right there.”

Blake couldn’t help but smile at that sight. She was so happy to see Yang back in action, not to mention being her cheeky self once again. As soon as they got on board, they were assigned their rooms and practically all fell asleep immediately from the long day. She hadn’t really gotten the chance to talk much with her friends last night. Now, she had the perfect opportunity to as they ate. As soon as she got to sit down and socialize, Blake got reacquainted with the feeling of being part of a team again, something she missed dearly. It was a feeling she hoped to never lose again.

Weiss noticed her smile and furrowed her brow. “What’s with you?” She asked.

“Oh, just remembering old times.” She said as she ate her omelette. She couldn’t help but look at Yang’s arm, the yellow metal prothstetic with her gauntlet attached to it. “So, how does it feel?”

Yang looked confused as she looked towards her. “What do you mean?”

Blake motioned to her arm. “Your new arm. Does it fit alright? Is it comfortable?”

Yang brought it up and placed it on the table, rolling up her sleeve to show it off. “Well, it was a little uncomfortable the first few days, but I got used to it pretty quickly. The only real problem I had was honestly getting used to having two arms again, but that was fixable.” She said happily.

Blake slowly reached out and felt the metal arm with her left hand. As soon as she touched it, she was greeted with a familiar feeling: coldness. No matter how it might had felt, it would never be warm again. Blake couldn’t help but feel her stomach winch at the feeling of her arm. No matter what Yang said to her yesterday, she still felt responsible for what had happened to her best friend.

Yang took notice of this and grabbed her hand with her metal one. “Blake, don’t put yourself down like this. Like I said before, it’s not your fault.”

“Yang, Adam did this to you to get to me. He wanted me to suffer with the fact that I am responsible. As long as he lives, I’ll never be able to look at you the same again. I’m sorry.” Blake said sadly.

Yang gave her a determined face. “Hey, you don’t have to do it alone. He stabbed you that night. He made an enemy with me and frankly, he’s going to regret one day.”

Blake regained her smile at hearing that. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that coming from your mouth. I thought you were never going to fight again.”

Yang chuckled. “I’ll be honest with you girls: I honestly didn’t think so myself. I thought that was it and I was miserable for so long. It was only with the help of my parents that I got through it.”

“That reminds me, your mother came back to help you. How did that happen?” Blake asked, earning a confused look from Weiss which Blake noticed. “It's a long story, Weiss. I tell you in a second as long as Yang doesn’t mind.”

Yang sighed. “Don’t worry. I don’t mind. As for how my mother helped me, lets just say that her idea of helping is to kidnap me from my home while I was sleeping, take me to a cave in the middle of nowhere, and train me herself.”

Blake and Weiss looked at Yang like she just told the biggest lie ever, yet somehow, they could believe it. “Seriously?” Weiss asked.

Yang nodded. “It was weird and I totally was caught off guard, but I’m honestly glad it happened. We seem to be on the right track for reconciliation.”

Weiss shook her head. “No offense, but you and Ruby have the weirdest family I have ever seen.” 

Yang chuckled. “None taken, ice queen or should I be saying...Weiss queen.” She said with her trademark cheeky grin.

Blake chuckled while Weiss groaned and facepalmed. “Yup, you're totally back.” She said as the door opened, revealing Ruby, Nora, and Ren, who walked over right away to greet them.

“Hey, guys. Everyone sleep well?” Nora asked chirpily.

The three girls nodded. “As well as we could. After all that happened yesterday, I felt like I could have slept for a week straight.” Yang said.

Ren nodded as he looked over to the area where the food was being served. “Hey Nora. I think I see pancakes over there.”

*FWWOOOSSSHHH*

Everyone except for Ren jumped when Nora went over to the food line with lightning speed and eagerly got as many pancakes as possible.

Ren sighed. “I should probably try to stop her before there’s none left for anyone else.”

Ruby giggled. “Yeah, I might as well get something too.” She said before she felt her hand being grabbed by Weiss, stopping her in her tracks. 

“Actually, Ruby, why don’t you let them get their food first. I was hoping you could stay back and chat about something.” The heiress said.

Ruby popped her head to the side in confusion, but reluctantly nodded. “Alright, Ren, I’ll go up in a little bit.”

Ren gave a grunt as he went up to stop his partner, who was currently acting like the world’s pancake storage was dangerously low.

Ruby sat down with her team still a little confused. “So, what’s this all about?”

Blake, Weiss, and Yang all looked to one another and nodded, readying to ask a question that may be very emotional to their leader, but they knew that they needed to hear the truth.

“Ruby, we need to know what happened to Jaune. Yang told us that you got hurt by him.” Blake said.

Hearing that, Ruby immediately looked afraid of talking about it. “Um...I don’t think that is a good idea. I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Ruby, we know that whatever happened can't be an easy thing to bring up, but we need to know. You’re our leader and Jaune is our friend. So please, tell us what had happened.” Weiss said.

Ruby looked over to Ren and Nora, who were still getting food, before sighing and turning to face our team. “Well, after Pyrrha’s death, Jaune took it very badly. We all did, but his case was easily the worst. He became really depressed and was barely able to fight. If it wasn’t for us I don’t know if he would have continued to fight. I got so bad that we noticed grimm encounters were occurring more often than ever.”

“His depression must have led them to you guys.” Yang said sadly, remembering how her depression affected her and her father. In a way she could have related to jaune for what he had been going through. After all, she knew what it was like to lose someone close to her or have them abandon her.

Ruby nodded. “Yeah. It didn’t take long for the three of us to figure it out and try to have an intervention. Unfortunately, it didn’t go how it hoped.” Ruby said with a tear coming out of her eye.

The three girls were saddened by seeing Ruby look so broken. Whatever happened must have really left the impact on the girl. They said nothing as she continued.

“We tried to talk to him, help him through it, but he got furious. He insulted Nora and Ren...and when I tried to stop him he then...then...then…” Ruby barely could speak as tears came out of her eyes. “She asked me if my mommy would come save me.” 

The reactions were mixed at that statement. Weiss covered her mouth, Blake winced, and Yang started to get angry, her eyes flashing red. How could someone say that to anyone to a girl who had already seen too much? They couldn’t believe that Jaune would say such a thing to anyone, not to mention his best friend.

“You know...I think I heard enough.” Yang said, trying to control herself after hearing that from her sister. “You don’t have to continue, Ruby.”

Weiss tried to comfort her partner as best as she could. She gave her a hug in order to console her. “It’s ok, Ruby. I’m sure he really didn’t mean it. Do you want to continue?”

Ruby sniveled as she wiped her face on her sleeve. “Y-Yeah. I think I can continue. After that, I got angry and I slapped his face. I yelled at him to never, ever say that again. When he turned back to face me, his eyes were glowing red.”

This caught the other three girls by surprise. “What are you talking about? You mean like Yang?” Blake asked.

“No, with Yang you could still see her pupils. With Jaune on the other hand, it was like they were two small suns in his head instead of his eyes they were sparking and making sparking sounds. This happened a few times while we were traveling” She answered her teammates.

The other three girls looked at each other, trying to understand this bizarre act. “You guys think his semblance is finally revealing itself?” Yang asked.

“Possibly, but I never heard of one like that. Ruby, did Jaune show any bizarre behavior while you guys traveled to Haven?” Weiss asked.

Ruby nodded. “Yes. One night, while we were sleeping and he was keeping watch, he woke us up and said that he heard people screaming. We thought he was delusional from his lack of sleep, but he insisted on it and ran off into the woods. We ran for ten straight minutes before we came across a village under attack by the Grimm. Jaune had managed to beat all of us there. We wouldn’t have been able to save it without him”

The three girls were really bewildered by this revelation. “Wait, how did Jaune manage to beat you all? Your semblance is speed!” Yang asked dumbfoundedly.

“To be honest, I don’t know. It seemed impossible for him to get there so fast, but I couldn’t even catch up with him after using my semblance. By the time we made it, he was already fighting the grimm on his own.” Ruby answered

“Sounds like his semblance could be speed or hearing, but it doesn’t explain how he could have both.” Blake said. This was quite the revelation indeed. The boy who had no previous experience before entering a huntsman academy being able to be faster than the fastest person they know is a shock. “So, what happened next?”

Ruby took in a deep breath. “Jaune stared at me for a second before raising his right hand and gently put it on my chest. Before I could react, he pushed me lightly. The thing was, instead of going back a little bit, I flew back and good distance and smashed through a tree, breaking my aura. I was so luck he broke no bones.” 

The three girls’ jaws dropped at that. Now, Yang was truly angry from hearing that news. No one would hurt her sister like that and get away with it. “And then what?” she said through gritted teeth.

“Well then, Ren and Nora ran to me to help me up and check on me. Jaune’s eyes reverted back to their normal state and he then seemed to realize what he had done. After that, he screamed and ran off with ridiculous speed and we haven’t seen him since.” Ruby said sadly.

Yang scoffed. “He better run. Next time I see him we're going to have a little talk, and it won’t be pleasant.” She said while cocking her gauntlet.

Ruby got scared at hearing that. “Yang, please don’t. If we do see him again, you can’t be like that to him. He’s had it rough?”

Yang looked shocked at hearing that news. “What? Why? He insulted and hurt you. He’s clearly not the same Jaune we knew. Why should I treat him the same as I always did?”

Ruby got angry. “Because he has suffered. After Pyrrha’s death he changed. I want to help him, not punish him for not being in the right state of mind.”

“Ruby, I know he suffered, but that doesn’t give him the right to treat you like garbage. What if he did more than hurt you. What if he killed you?” Yang tried to reason with her way.

“Hello! I’m not dead! Besides, he knew what he did was wrong I could see it when his eyes reverted back to normal. He had regret in him for his actions.”

Yang sighed. Despite everything Ruby was still so sympathetic and naive. She wasn’t really close to Jaune, but he was still a friend of hers. Despite not being very skilled, vomit boy was quite funny and caring all the time. The fact that he would go so low as to hit Ruby, his first friend, really spoke volumes. She didn’t really know what to say about this. Fortunately, she wouldn’t have to say anything as Ren and Nora were finally returned to with their food.

“Hey girls. We heard you speaking from over there.” Ren said.

The girls looked at each other before Weiss said something. “Is it true? Did he really go and do that to you guys?”

Ren sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. I was just as shocked as you all we're hearing that from him. It got me really angry that night. I hoped to have never seen him do such a thing, let alone to us of all people. We haven't seen him since that night and honestly, we’re all pretty worried.” He said sadly as the door opened, revealing team SSSN entering the cafeteria.

“Really Guys? You're not going to come check on us to see if we were up and wake us if we weren’t?” Sage said, clearly annoyed with his friends. It was then that he noticed the somber mood of the scenario. “Oh...I’m sorry. I didn't mean to-”

Neptune stepped in to stop him. “Dude, for someone with 20/20 vision, you can be so blind at times” He said as he turned to face the group. “Sorry guys, we didn’t know what was going on.”

“It’s alright, you guys didn't know. We should have checked on your four as well.” Blake said to them. “Everyone sleep alright?”

“Yeah. Pretty nice break considering what happened yesterday, though I suppose it was nothing compared to what you guys all went through.” Sun said as he took a seat. “So what are you guys talking about exactly, or is it something you want to keep private?”

“It’s nothing.” Nora said firmly. “Just trying to get over something from the past. So Weiss, you talked to your sister last night. What she say?”

Weiss sighed. “To be honest it went better than I expected. She was able to see both sides of the issue and understand why I wanted to get away from home. She also though my approach was reckless, however, and she chastised me for stressing her and our father out.”

 

“I take it your father is the over-protective type?” Sun asked rhetorically.

“Is? Father is practically the very definition of an overprotective dad, especially after what happened at Beacon.” She said as she put her hand on her forehead, remembering how ridiculous her father could be at times.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. We’re glad you're back with us. We all missed you.” Ruby said happily to cheer her up.

Weiss couldn’t help but smile at the girl. She always knew how to make things better, even though she could be a dummy at times. “Thanks Ruby.” She said sincerely. It was then that the P.A. system on board the ship went live, drawing everyone's attention.

“Attention. This is General Ironwood speaking. Will teams RWBY, SSSN, and JNPR report to the briefing room in thirty minutes.” He said as the message died down.

“Well, guess we had to get back in action at some point. Wonder if my parents and uncle Qrow are there?” Yang said.

‘I’m sure they are. All I know is that I’m happy they gave us thirty minutes. I’m starving.” Scarlet said as he went over to the buffet line with his team following.

As they went up, Blake noticed Nora had came pack with a giant plate of towering pancakes, stunning her. “Uh, Nora? How many pancakes did you take?”

Nora giggled. “All of them.” She said evilly.

Suddenly, the six teens could hear Sun shout to himself. “Hey, who took all of the pancakes?!!!” This prompted team RWBY to look to Ren, almost as if they were asking if he was okay with all of this with their faces alone.

Ren shrugged. “We haven’t had pancakes in six months. There was no point in trying to stop her.” He said blankly as he continued to eat his eggs.

\-------------------------------------

In a briefing room located a few floors up from the mess hall, five adults were conversing while observing files from the giant computer screens in a large room with multiple rows of seated chairs. These five were a general, a specialist, and three huntsmen from a team split up long ago.

Ironwood looked over to Qrow as they observed the screens, showing footage from the attack on Beacon. “So, Ozpin was gone when you arrived at the tower?”

“I’m afraid so. When I got there, I immediately went after Ruby, being that she is family and will always come first before my boss. I found her at the top where his office once was, the dragon frozen due to her powers. After I got her out of their, I looked in the vault, but there was no sign of him anywhere. The only thing I found was his cane.” Qrow said.

“Do you think he was killed in battle?” Taiyang asked.

“That...I don’t know. I’ve known him for so long and the man is still a total enigma to me in many ways. He could be dead or M.I.A. Whatever happened to him, it seemed that he lost his fight to Cinder.” Qrow said

Winter Schnee, wearing her military outfit, didn’t really like the sound of that answer. While she didn’t know Ozpin too well, she knew of how important he was to Remnant. The fact that he disappeared was not good news. “If he were to be alive, why would he go into hiding? What purpose would that serve?”

Qrow smirked. “Like I said, the man is an enigma to me in some ways. I can only hope that if he is still alive, he isn’t in a terrible situation. Now then, did anything pop up in Atlas?”

As the two talked as associates rather than friends, Taiyang couldn’t help but noticed his former wife and teammate by herself leaning against the wall, thinking to herself with a troubled look on her face. He didn’t know what to think of the women to be truthfully honest. It was almost like she was the true enigma to him. She was always reclusive ever since they left and she had somehow managed to convince Qrow to keep secrets from them. Still, to leave her husband and daughter without saying single word...that was something that had eating Taiyang up for a long time. He would have asked last night had it not been from the exhausting conditions from yesterday's events.

He decided that now was the time he should try to talk to her about it. After everything that had transpired yesterday, he never got the chance to really talk to her. Despite their less than enthusiastic reunion, he could never fully bring himself to hate her completely. He still cared for Raven, after all, she was his first wife and old partner in the field. Not to mention, she gave him Yang: one of greatest gifts he had ever gotten from anyone. No point in trying to reopen old wounds. If anything, with all the shit going on in the world, now was the time to bury the hatchet.

He slowly walked up to Raven, not that it mattered as she always seemed to know his every move. Raven was trained by her father to hone her senses to their maximum potential. Combine that with Taiyang’s clamorous nature, and it was pretty hard for Raven to not know her former husband's every move. She easily showed this skill by looking up towards him as he too a few steps forward in her direction.

“What do you want?” She said in a monotone voice.

Taiyang scoffed. “What? I can’t talk to my former wife and teammate? You're clearly troubled about something, Raven. What I want to know is what it is.”

Raven sighed. “Just been thinking lately, about all that had happened...about us.” She said, surprising the man as she continued. “Taiyang, I know what happened in the past will always be held against me, but I assure you it wasn’t because of anything I felt about you. I still love you, and I’m glad we had the chance to be together.”

Taiyang was surprised. He wasn’t expecting this, yet decided that he wasn’t gonna let her get away with that as the answer. “If that’s true, then why? Why leave everything we had behind? If you were so happy then there was no reason to go and do that.” He said, wanting the truth now more than ever.

Raven looked away, clearly troubled with the dilemma going on in front of her. “I assure you, Tai. Despite what you may think, I had to do what needed to be done. Had I stayed, it would have only made things worst.”

“Cut the bullshit, Raven. We both know that you didn’t need to leave like that.” Tai said with some weight in his voice, prompting the other three adults to look their way.

“Is everything alright between those two?” James asked Qrow.

Qrow nodded. “Yeh, just some marital disputes. They’ll be fine. Just ignore them.”

Back with the two of them, Taiyang noticed that Qrow swayed the unwanted attention away from them, causing him to raise his eyebrow. I guess that he knew that this was gonna happen eventually. Shouldn’t really be surprised that he’s drawing attention away from us. I’ll have to thank him later. He thought to himself as he turned to face Raven again. “Look, I know I was rough in you yesterday, but after what had happened to Yang and Ruby leaving, I was a little on edge from what's been happening in the world. I didn’t act in the way I should have acted and for that, I’m sorry. All I want to know is the truth. Could you please give me that?” He asked.

Raven was silent for a few seconds before nodding. “Later, but only with Yang present. I think it’s only right that she knows herself.”

Taiyang couldn’t argue with that, though he was honestly surprised she didn’t tell their daughter why she left. After all, they were by themselves for two months straight. They had to talk a lot during that period of time. “You two were together for two whole months and you never told her?” 

Raven sighed. “I made up a reason to her. I mainly wanted her to get back into the fight and reconcile with her. Had she known the truth beforehand, I can’t say we would have done so well” she said darjly

Taiyang was so confused. From the sound of things, it was almost as if Raven was a murderer or some sort of criminal, but that made no sense. He knew the woman that he once loved would never take another life unless it was part of her duty as a huntress. His curiosity peaked at the words that came out of her mouth. “Raven…”

“Please Tai, I’ll explain later. Right now, I just want to talk.” She said, trying to sway the conversation away from the direction it was currently going towards.

Taiyang sighed. He knew that this was clearly going to be a very difficult thing to discuss with her. His curiosity was going to have to wait for a little longer before he would figure it all out. “Alright. I’ll hold off on it for now.” He said reluctantly

Raven smirked at that. Taiyang always understood the needs of others and when people didn’t want to bring things up. If there is one thing she could admire about him, it was his patience “Thanks, Tai. I knew you would understand. So, how have you been for the last seventeen years?”

“Well, up until recently, I couldn't have been happier. I had two beautiful girls who were training hard to become huntsmen like the rest of their family. I was ecstatically nervous for them. That was, until Beacon fell six months ago. Then, I had to live with the fact that my younger daughter ran off with her friends on a quest to find the ones responsible, Qrow leaving without telling me a goddam thing, and my elder daughter sitting at home, not doing anything due to her depression. I hardly would call the last few months the best time of my life.” He said sadly.

Raven felt bad for him. In truth, she never stopped loving her husband or daughter. She would have wanted nothing more than to live with them, to watch Yang grow into strong and confident huntress. All of the stress going on in his life must have affected him greatly.

“How...how bad was she?” Raven hesitated to ask.

Taiyang sighed. “I’m going to be completely honest with you: it was one of the single worst things I have ever seen. The first three months it seemed like there was barely any life in her eyes. I tried my best to motivate her, to try to get her to move around and exercise, but it seemed to be an ill-fated effort at first.”

Raven felt terrible. Maybe if she was there earlier this wouldn’t had happened. No one deserved to go through life like that after all. “How did you convince her to try and fight again?”

“Well, it was one night when she actually came out to eat dinner with me. I had to be a little rougher than usual and eventually, it turned into an argument. I then...I then brought you into the mix.” He said.

Raven was surprised by that statement. “How did that work?”

“I asked her if this is what you would have wanted for her. She got really pissed off, quite possibly the angriest I have ever seen her in a long time from hearing that and told me how she didn’t know considering that you left us. She then went on a rant after hearing that, talking about how I didn’t know what it was like and saying that anyone probably would have done the same thing as her. I told her because their was one difference between you and her: you would’ve gotten back up right away. She then stormed off back into her room and slammed the door after hearing that, never coming back down for the evening. The next morning, I woke up to see that she had her remaining gauntlet on and was out training in the backyard with it as if nothing ever happened. I remember smiling as I went out to watch her go and then walked up to her to congratulate her on getting back up. She responded by punching me right in the face.” He briefly stop to chuckle at that memory, remembering how much he deserved it and how she got his nose to bleed from one, powerful strike. “From there on out, I helped her out as best as I could, training with her everyday until I was called into Vale to help out. You know the rest of the story from there.” He explained.

Raven took a minute to process what she had just heard. In one way, it was pretty smart for Taiyang to use herself as motivation for Yang. In another way, it was pretty fucked up as well and frankly was something she would have never expected him to use, let alone against his daughter of all people. He was arguably the sweetest and most caring person she knew and yet he had gone that far to help Yang out. Despite her thoughts on the matter, she couldn’t help but chuckle slightly “You play a mean game sometimes, Tai.”

Taiyang actually chuckled at that. “Well I should be able to. After all, you taught me how to play dirty.” That earned him another chuckle from Raven. “So, how bout you?”

“Well, I have been mostly been traveling around Remnant, using my profession to take whatever jobs available to make ends meat. Can’t give you much else other than that.” She said plainly.

“Are you sure?” Taiyang pressed. You’re clearly holding out on me on something-”

“LATER, Tai.” She said sternly, reminding him that she would only go over the truth once their daughter was present. “So, how did you get here?”

“Your brother. He arranged for a ship to come take me here to speak on Ironwood’s behalf. I may not know Jimmy as well as he does, but from what I see he’s a better man than how the media makes him out to be” he said as the door to the briefing room opened. Ten young huntsmen stepped into the room, including the very girl the two older huntsmen were just talking about, prompting the remaining huntsmen to drop the conversation and give them their attention. 

“Ah, good to see that you all made it. Please, have a seat.” Ironwood said, motioning to the many chairs present in the room.

The teams took their seats together, clearly not separating any time as they prepared to listen to what the general would have to say.

“Well, let me start with this: Haven City owes all of you young men and women a lot. Every single one of you have done so much yesterday and many more lives were saved due to your involvement, especially you four.” He said glancing towards Ruby, Yang, Nora, and Ren. “Though many lives were lost, many more were saved from the grimm and the White Fang.” He said proudly.

Then ten huntsmen felt pride in the fact that they made a difference. Despite all that had happened in the past couple of months, it was nice to see that some good could still be done. That alone was enough to make them feel great.

Ironwood continued. “Now, it’s time we get to the real business at hand. Despite the fact that you are all still in training, each and every one of you have had more experience in combat with the grimm and White Fang than most other huntsmen your age. You’ve clearly all have shown your worth and for that, we feel that it's only right for you all to join in on the fight, that is if you still want to battle”

The ten of them nodded, ready to stand up to the new challenge of Remnant being under fire from the forces of evil. “I think we're all willing to fight back.” Ruby said proudly.

Ironwood smirked. “That’s good to hear. I know a lot of you have questions. Therefore, I am willing to answer them for you all right now.

At hearing those words, Neptune immediately spoke up. “Well, for starters, how about explaining why your drones attacked us six months ago!” He spat out, causing everyone to look at him an shock for saying that. “What? Don’t tell me you all just forgot that all of the sudden.”

Ironwood sot his hand up to stop him from continuing. “I expected this question. Yes, the Atlesian knights and paladins did attack the citizens of Vale, but i assure you, it wasn’t under Atlesian orders. Rather, one of our ships was hijacked by a rogue assailant. She successfully eliminated everyone on board and uploaded a virus onto the ship, causing all Atlas tech in the vicinity to go rogue.” He said as he pulled up a photo of a damaged scroll on one of the screens in the room. “This scroll was recovered from the flagship of the fleet in Vale. It was the device used to hack the drone network onboard our ship.”

“The ship that was hijacked by Torchwick.” Ruby said bitterly, remembering how the criminal and his accomplice were behind the framing of Atlas. Fortunately, they would no longer be a problem as Torchwick was eaten by a griffon and Neo was MIA, presumed dead.

“Yes, it was their actions that caused our drones to attack the people of Vale. Atlas would never attack its ally in cold blood and slaughter unarmed civilians.” Ironwood said truthfully.

The huntsmen took the time to process the information they had heard. It did make more sense as to why the drones went rampant, but it still left some questions to be answered. “So if that’s true, then what are you doing with the androids?” Ren asked.

Winter stepped forward to speak. “At the moment, all Atlas military drones are deactivated and out of combat operations due to compromisation of their hardware. Our best technologists are working hard to make sure that they will never be turned on Atlas or civilians again.”

“Until then, they are all offline, leaving the men and women of this army to lead it into combat.” Ironwood finished.

“But how did they manage to hack the mainframe. Seems like a rather big accomplishment for a thug like Torchwick?” Weiss asked.

“You’re not wrong for thinking that. Roman Torchwick was a highly wanted criminal but even he did not possess the resources or the intelligence to pull off such a scheme. That being said, it wasn't him that was behind the attack on Vale.” Ironwood said. As he snapped his fingers, causing a beautiful woman with black hair, amber eyes, and a red dress to appear on the screen. “This is Cinder Fall: the mastermind behind the attack on Vale and the Vytal Festival.

Some of the huntsmen gasped at the women on the screen, while one in particular looked at it with shock and building rage. Ruby clenched her fist at seeing the woman she saw on top of the tower. The woman who she saw in the hallway of the Beacon dormitory and had a bad feeling about. The women who she watched murder her friend. Ruby could feel herself getting angrier and angrier at seeing her face again that she didn’t even notice her eyes starting to glow, while some of the adults in the room did, mainly two siblings.

!

Ruby was snapped out of her building rage by a hand grabbing her left arm. She looked over to see Yang, who had a concerned look on her face.

“You alright, Ruby? You're tensing up.” Yang said to her sister out of concern.

Ruby hesitated for a moment, before nodding slowly as she calmed down from what had just occurred. “Yeah. I’m good. Sorry about that. It’s just...she was the one, Yang. The one who… Pyrrha.” She said, feeling her eyes water up at the thought of her friend.

Yang eyes widened at hearing those words as she immediately wrapped her arms around her sister, comforting her as she wept slightly. This did not go unnoticed by the rest of the huntsmen, who were shocked by hearing her say that.

Ironwood nodded. “Yes, it is true. Pyrrha Nikos was in fact murdered by the very person seen here. We can confirm that she lead the attack on Beacon and, thanks to new information given to us by miss Branwen, we have a new development in our enemies.” Ironwood said as he gestured to Raven for her to step forward, which she did.

“Good morning.” She said as she bowed formally. “My name is Raven Branwen. Some of you may know my brother, Qrow. I am also the mother of your fellow huntsmen, Yang. Like each and everyone of you, I too was fighting in the battle that took place yesterday. After me, Qrow and Taiyang dealt with White Fang snipers, Me and my brother ran into the very man who shot down Miss Schnee’s airship: Floyd Lawton.” She said as the screen changed to an assassin with a white mask and red battle suit with a black bulletproof vest carrying bandoliers wrapped around. To the right side of the screen was the mugshot of his front and side, showing a rather handsome middle aged man with black hair and stubble around his chin and cheeks. “He is more famous for his alias ‘Deadshot’: the world's greatest marksman. Grow and I fought him off but he got away. We have confirmation that he is in correlation with Cinder Fall and her team.”

“So now we have a famous marksman working with the terrorists. Just Great.” Yang deadpanned.

“Deadshot was also the one who had fried of the rounds at miss Rose and miss Valkerie. Although my brother has more experience with him, our encounter has taught me that his reputation is certainly not part of mythology. Not only did I discover that, but I personally was able to make one other conformation: While rushing to regroup with team RWBY and the remains of JNPR, I caught sight of Cinder Fall and Adam Taurus fleeing the battle together by a gateway.” She said as a photo of Adam Taurus came up on the screen next.

Blake was shocked. Everything she was suspicious about was true. The White Fang were in lines of working with Cinder Fall. There was a part of her that wasn’t really surprised about this given the fact that they were working with Torchwick prior to the fall of Vale, but Torchwick was merely a common thug.

This… this was confirmation that they were working with a full blown anarchist bent on destroying society. She would have never imagined that the White Fang would have ever stooped to this low of a level.

“The White Fang working with Cinder Fall? What would they have to gang from this?” Ren asked silently just enough for Blake to hear.

“If they get to fight against humanity, that's more than enough reasoning for them to join in at this point.” Blake said sadly.

“Yes, it was quite the shock to us as well that they would work with someone the likes of Fall, but the point is that they are.” Ironwood said as he took over the briefing again. “We also have discovered that her ‘teammates’, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black, were accomplices in her attack on Vale.” Ironwood said as their pictures came up next.

To Ruby, she was not surprised to see that they were involved with Cinder Fall, nor was Nora and Ren. The others were however, especially Yang in particular, were incredibly surprised to hear this..

“So...does that mean…” She asked eagerly.

Ironwood briefly gave his attention to Yang. “Miss Xiao Long, we were able to recover surveillance footage of Vale during the Vytal Festival. Not only did the battle between Miss Nikos and Polendina raise suspicion, but we were also able to discover Mr. Black in Vale standing just fine during the attack.”

“We actually were attacked by him on the way to Haven and fended him off. His legs were made of metal.” Nora added.

“But that still doesn’t explain why Yang attacked Mercury.” Neptune added.

“Actually, Specialist Schnee may have discovered a reason for that as well.” Ironwood said as he handed the older Schnee the stage.

“After rewatching the footage of Yang and miss Nikos matches, we noticed some interesting changes in facial movements and actions. It was almost as if they were reacting to things that weren’t even there. This wouldn’t have been unusual had it been occurring in only one of the matches, but it happened in two consecutive fights. The highly unusual activity occurring during the matches, not to mention that Emerald was present in both fights, suggest some sort of involvement from Cinder’s group. Because of this, I had decided to investigate Emerald personally. What I discovered was that she was a thief in Vale that was able to rob people without any issues. In fact, according to one victim, she managed to disappear in instant from right in front of him and get away. We believe it may be possible that Emerald has an illusion semblance: a rare ability that could have caused the battles to spin out of control.”

Yang was shocked. With all of this coming into light, this could only mean one thing.

“Miss Xiao Long, after further investigation and reviewing of the evidence, we have found you innocent of assaulting Mercury Black. I apologize for doubting you and hope that you can forgive me and the many other people who have misjudged your character.” Ironwood stated, much to the younger huntsmen surprise and relief.

After hearing that, Yang felt so amazed that things were looking so differently. Her name was cleared and that would mean that her reputation would no longer be tarnished. She felt so happy that she was finally seen as innocent.

“Thank You. Thank you so much.” She said gratefully as she felt happy again from this new revelation. This reaction prompted a warm feeling inside everyone currently in the briefing room, especially her family and teammates in particular.

“Qrow also decided to investigate Black” Ironwood said as Qrow stepped forward

“While I was a little doubtful about Yang being innocent, I decided to investigate Black shortly after. I discovered that he is the son of a moderately well-known assassin: Marcus Black.” He said as a new image of an older man with long silver hair, a bear, and a long scar down his left eye. “Marcus was once known for committing murders, but it looks as though he retired and left the business to live in the Emerald Mountains with his son. When I went up to their shak not long after the fall, I discovered the building was burned down and Marcuse’s charred remains buried not so far away. It wasn’t to hard to draw conclusions after that.” He said

“Anything else on Fall?” Weiss asked.

“Nothing. She has remained the most mysterious member of the group. All we know is that she was able to fake a student personna with her accomplices, hack the CCT, learn about Miss Paulindina’s condition, and was able to bring the fall of Vale into fruition.” Qrow finished.

The huntsman were surprised that someone could be so smart as to plan something this big out and carry it on with no mistakes. It was really impressive, not to mention scary that there was someone out there that was capable of all this.

“Sounds like this Fall person was one step ahead of us all along. I guess no one could have seen this coming.” Sun commented.

After hearing that, Ironwood turned to Qrow, who nodded as to giving an unforeseen signal to the man. Ironwood mentally sighed as he prepared to deliver news that he knew would not be received well.

“Actually, we knew their was some involvement going on.”

“What?!!!” The young huntsmen all said.

“You mean to tell me that this was all coming, and it could have been prevented?!! Why the hell weren’t we told?!! Sage said angrily.

“Because we assumed that the breach was their plan. After Torchwick and the White Fang members were arrested, we thought that was it. We had no idea that the plan was far more elaborate than that.” Ironwood said, trying to explain himself.

“And how long did you know that something was coming?” Yang asked with her irises colored red, clearly amused by what was just revealed.

Ironwood sighed. “Before the school school year began. Ozpin told me of the situation and I decided to come to Vale along with my forces. Our goal was to contain the situation before people got hurt and right as we thought that it was over, they came back and carried out their plan.” He said in a defeated tone.

From hearing that, their was a storm of emotions present in the minds of the huntsmen present. Some were filled with anger, some with shock, somewith distrust. The fact that this was kept hidden from them, people training to protect Remnant, really got the blood of some present boiling. Regardless, Atlas was trying to protect people, despite their clearly ineffective method.

“It would appear that it didn’t end well” Ren said

“No, it didn’t. Which is why we need to re-establish our alliances with the kingdoms. Our mistakes in Vale have allowed our enemies to shatter decades of diplomacy and peace between nations. If this keeps up, their might be an all out civil war on our hands. And I think I speak for everyone present when I say that no one wants that.” Qrow said to relieve the tension in the room.

The young huntsmen didn’t like it, but they couldn’t help but agree with the grey haired expert. The last thing to do was cause more fighting among themselves. “So then...what do we do now?” Sun asked

“Well for starters, we need to make sure they don’t continue to increase the amount of distrust between the kingdoms. As many of you are aware, the last images to come out of Vale before the CCT fell were of Atlas drones attacking citizens. Because of this, Atlas is now being seen as an enemy of the other two kingdoms. Our goal was to come here and re-establish a diplomatic relationship with Mistral, but as you can all see, it didn’t work out well.” Ironwood stated with regret in his voice.

Ruby spoke next. “Hey, you and Roven were getting along well yesterday. Surely that has to mean something.” She said with some optimism.

“Doesn’t help much not that Roven is dead now. That being said, there is always that conversation between you and the Mistral general.” Weiss added.

“Swansick? I would hardly say that we reached a mutual agreement. I talked with him prior to this briefing. He was not pleased over the events in Vale and Haven.” Ironwood answered.

“Is he effectively in charge of Mistral?” Blake asked 

“Not quite. The death of the chancellor means that a new one will have to be voted in by the senate. Combining the long process with all the shit that went down yesterday it could take a while before a new one is sworn in.” Qrow said.

“For now, we seem to be on the same ground. That being said, it’s not an official alliance and that means that most people won’t see it as one either. People are more frightened now than ever and the events that transcribed yesterday only made things worse.” Winter said.

“So how do we establish the peace between kingdoms?” Ren asked.

“That.. won't be an easy task. It could require months of meetings between officials from other kingdoms. Why it took us three months for our diplomatic meetings to make any progress in Haven. Combine this with the fact that Vale is fallen and Vacuo refuse to communicate with us, we don’t have much in the way of allies.” Ironwood said. 

Taiyang finally decided to speak up. “There’s always Glynda and the huntsmen in Vale. They haven’t left the place since the fall and the majority of them are graduates from academies all around Remnant. They would definitely provide some crucial support in the fight.”

Ironwood took a moment to process this information and proposal. Yes, Glynda was a powerful ally and they were in need of many huntsmen. That being said, this was Vale they were talking about. There was no guarantee that this would work due to people still feeling Atlas is untrustworthy. Still, they were running out of options and given the fact that Grimm were being the main threat, there was nothing better to counter them with than huntsmen. Not to mention the fact that Glynda and himself were good friends. If they could reach an alliance, maybe people would see it as a way to trust Atas more.

“A daring move, Taiyang. And yet the rewards of success could very well change the tide in this battle. I feel as though it just might work.” The general said in agreement.

Taiyang smirked at that. He knew the general would concur with him on that idea. His smirk faded however, as he noticed Qrow has sneaked away to talk to Raven on the side in secret. He frowned at that, given the fact that the two had clearly been proven to hide stuff from him. 

“Nonetheless, I’m afraid that I can’t personally take a leave of absence. I need to remain here in order to help in the recovery of Haven. My presence may make things work, but I need to oversee the operations and formulate strategies with Swanwick.” Ironwood said as he turned around to the young huntsmen. “Perhaps, you ten could help out.”

“What are you suggesting?” Ruby asked.

“I am proposing that you all could be emissaries to Vale on behalf of Atlas. Given your backgrounds and Kingdoms of origin, it could help persuade huntsmen to fall in with us. That is of course, if you are all willing to accept this mission.” He finished.

The huntsmen looked around to one another. It was a move that some were not particularly fond of. After all, they had just been told that Ironwood and Ozpin have been hiding secrets from the public, secrets that could have saved lives. With that in mind, some still seemed a little reluctant to do such a thing. However, they knew what was at stake they couldn’t afford to let an opportunity to unite the kingdoms slip away. They all nodded to one another with a look of determination.  
“We accept!” They all said.

“Great.” Ironwood said as he looked towards Qrow and Winter. “I believe that you two should accompany them just in case. I presume that you are willing to do so?”

“Sir yes Sir.” Winter said respectfully.

“Sure. Why Not?” Qrow said jokingly, earning a glare from Winter.

Ironwood smirked. “Excellant. I’ll arrange for a ship to transport each of you over immediately. As of now, this briefing is adjourned.”

At that moment, all of the huntsmen got up to exit the room, except for Ruby and Yang, who decided to say farewell to their family members

Taiyang enveloped his younger daughter in a tight hug. “I just got to see you again and now you’re already leaving me. Please stay safe.” He said to his daughter.

“Hey, I’ve made it this far. We’ll be fine.” Ruby said to assure her father as they separated, allowing Yang to step in.

“I’ll watch over her dad. I promise.” Yang said as she hugged him.

“I know you will just...please be careful. I don’t want anything else bad to happen to you two. He said as Qrow and Raven stepped walked towards them.

“Well, kiddos, time to grab your gear. No doubt that we’re going to run into some Grimm while back in Vale.” Qrow said to his nieces.

The two of them nodded as they looked at one another. “I’ll be right behind you guys.” Yang said to Ruby as she walked out of the room. Raven approached her as she left. “Well, guess that this is goodbye for now.”

“I suppose so. This is a very important task given to you. I wish you the best of luck” Raven said as she enveloped her daughter in a hug. “When you get back, we need to talk.” She whispered to her daughter.

Yang nodded as she left the embrace and exited the room with her uncle to follow the rest of their party. Taiyang turned to his former wife. “What were you and Qrow discussing?”  
“He asked me for a favor. He wants me to try and track our enemies.” Raven replied.

This caught the blond huntsman by surprise. “You’re going on a mission? You just came back and now you're leaving again?”

“I’m not leaving for good Tai. Qrow knows damn well that I have always been an expert in tracking people like this. Sorry that I can’t always be there for you.” She said bitterly.

Taiyang sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that part of me is happy to see you again and happier that you helped Yang out. I just...don’t want you to run off so soon. Not to mention that you promised me that you talk to me and Yang about why you left.”

“I never said I was leaving this instant. I’m planning on leaving in the evening. Until then, I think it’s only right that you h=get you explanation on my absence. I presume that your quarters are empty?” She asked.

Taiyang smirked. “We’ll, they would be if you don’t count the corgi inside.”

It was now Raven’s turn to be surprised. “You bought your dog here?”

“Couldn’t leave him alone by himself. He may have stained the carpet.” Taiyang joked.

Raven chuckled as the two began to walk out. “Very well then. I figured you would always get some sort of pet. You always were an animal lover.”

“Of course. Not only that, but Yang and Ruby both adore him. He’s been a pivotal member of the family ever since we got him six years ago. Not to mention, he’s the only one of us who can never feel down. I wish my life was that simple.” Taiyang said as they reach the door.

“Tai, we’re huntsmen. Life was never meant to be simple for us.” Raven said as the door slid open.

“Oh believe me Raven: I know.” The father said as they exited the briefing room

Patch: Two Months Ago

The forest of Patch were always peaceful for most of the year. There were barely any grimm nearby the settlement due to the huntsmen and villager’s efforts to drive them away. Because of this, the forest was quiet save for the sounds of the wildlife around.

This day, however, it was not so quiet due to a fierce sparring match going on between a father and a daughter.

Nearby the Xiao-Long household, a cute corgi shat on a stump, watching curiously as two of its masters went out it right in front of him, providing the dog with some afternoon entertainment. Yang Xiao-long was fiercely engaged with her remaining gauntlet on her left arm, dodging her father’s attacks as they battled. For the first time in four months, Yang looked alive and ready to fight.

The brawler jumped out of the way as her father slammed his fist into the ground from an aerial assault, sending cracks through the sediment. Despite being retired for a while, the man was still incredibly strong due to his efforts to stay in shape and keep his physique up. He pulled out his left arm as his daughter recovered and charged him. He raised his hands, readying himself for whatever the girl would throw his way.

Only this time, Yang wasn’t going for a head-on assault, as when she was about four meters away, she fired her gauntlet into the ground, causing dirt and rock to disperse all over the area, providing cover for the battleground. Taiyang jumped back as he coughed up some of the debris.

Now, Yang jumped backwards and landed on a tree and, by using her gauntlet, fired again to launch her self very quickly through the cloud of dirt and towards her father at blinding speed, readying a powerful punch. The man barely had time to react as he raised his arms up to block.

The pure power of the punch send shockwaves behind Taiyang as he rolled back from the attack and landed on his back. Yang landed a few hundred feet back panting heavily from her attack.

Taiyang started laughing as he got back up. “Well done, Yang!! That punch was almost as strong as the ones you used to throw. You really haven’t lost as much as your strength as I feared.” He said happily as he walked over to her.

For the first time in a while, Yang smiled. This was a sight that hasn't been seen in months since she lost her arm. Things were really looking hopeful for her after all. “Thanks dad. I’m glad to see that I still got some of it.” She said as her smile faded from looking at her father’s face, his nose bleeding. “Dad, your nose-”

Taiyang put his hand up to wipe his nose, causing some noticeable blood on his hand. “Damn! Must have hit me harder than I thought. Oh well, I think we could wrap up for today anyway. Let’s go back into the house for lunch.” He said as they walked back over to their lodge, Zwei in tow trotting happily.

Inside, the man was cooking for the two of them as Yang was sitting at the table, waiting patiently for her food in a better mood than she had been for the past couple of months.

Taiyang came over happily with their meals and settled them down on the table. Yang’s chicken was cut up into smaller bits so she could eat easier, something she hated but understood why it was done given the circumstances. “I tell you, Yang, that was one hell of a display out there. I’m glad to see that you still got it in ya.” He said proudly to his daughter.

Yang couldn’t help but give a small smile to her father. This was the first time she honestly saw him overjoyed since the fall of Beacon. It was good to know that not only was she no longer moping around but making him happy too. She did, however, feel bad about punching him so hard. He was only trying to help her, despite his unorthodox tactics, and she might have let her rage get out of hand.

“Thanks dad, sorry about your nose.” She said as her smile faded and was replaced with a more apologetic look on her face.

“What this?” He said has he pointed at his nose, which was still a little sore. “Don’t fret about it. After all, it’s a fitting punishment given the circumstances of how I ‘re-encouraged’ you” He said as he chuckled.

“No, it wasn’t ok. For the last four months I’ve been nothing but a bitter, emotionless waste of space who never did anything but sat in my bed and effectively did nothing other than feeling sorry for myself. I’ve neglected your presence most of the time and when I acknowledged ou, it was for nothing more than to take out my recent on all that’s happened. Therefore, I’m sorry for who I’ve been.” She said sadly, remembering who she was as she looked downward in shame.  
Taiyang, feeling touched by his elder daughter’s apology, got up from his seat and went over to her, pulling the girl into a hug. “Yang, you're my daughter. What kind of father would I be if I wasn’t there to help you during whatever problem you have? I would gone through all that hell again if it meant making either you or Ruby happy.” He said with full honesty in his voice. 

Yang, with a tear coming down her cheek, hugged back with her remaining arm. “Thank you. Thank you for being here for me.”

“Anytime, Yang. Now then, I think it’s safe to say that both of us are rather hungry from that sparring session. Let’s eat before this chicken goes bad.” Taiyang said as he released his daughter and went back to his side of the table. “After all, it’s not like you're the only one who lost something in this household. I’ve been through something similar to your situation, more than once I might add.” He said a little sadly.

Yang frowned at that. Despite having no mother in the household for over ten years, her father still missed both Raven and Summer at times. After all, they both played a huge part in his life and gave him a daughter. “Hey, you made it all these years without them. Surely you don’t think about them too much.”

Taiyang sighed. “Trust me, Yang, I still think about them from time to time. I often reminisce on our time at Beacon, going on missions, settling down, and having you girls. I have cherished many moments with you and Ruby’s mother's. Those things tend to stay with you for a lifetime.”

Yang thought for a second. She was considering asking a question to her father that she never really asked before, but figured she would ask it given that he was opening up.

“Hey dad, what was Raven like?” She asked as she took a bite out of her chicken of the fork

Taiyang froze. He knew this day would come, but he hoped to never talk about it. He knew Yang remembered Summer, but he had no memory about her birth mother. After all, Raven left the two of them when she was very young. It was always something he hesitated on talking to his daughter about, but given how she was finally out of her depression, he figured that he would humor her.

“Well, she was one heck of a woman. I’ve known her for over 20 years. I remember when i first met her in the Emerald Forest during our Initiation when we ran into one another and became partners. We got off to a rough start due to our different perspectives in battle. She took every battle so seriously like the world depended on it and expected everyone else to be the same. I did not see things so similarly and we got off to bad start.” He said as he chuckled. “Heh, I remember after initiation she looked as though she was about to get on her knees and pray to get a new partner.”

“Must have been rough at first.” Yang commented through a chuckle of her own

“Rough wouldn’t do it justice. She argued with me and Summer when it came to our tactics on a daily basis. It was about the only reason she would talk to us for the first few weeks, then she would go off by herself when we weren’t doing business. Qrow told us that was how she was most of the time.” Taiyang said

To Yang, she couldn’t help but find it odd that her father would get with a woman like Raven instead of Summer right away. “So...how did things progress? Obviously something happened between you two.”

“Well, it happened on one mission in particular where team STRQ we was sent off to forever fall to deal with a Deathstalker that was troubling a local village. We were blindsided by the largest one I had ever seen and got separated from Qrow and Summer as a result. Raven and I spent the night in the cave. That was where we honestly opened up to each other for the first time. I remember how we talked about why we wanted to be huntsmen, what we planned on doing with our lives after Beacon, and just finally met a common understanding under the starry night. The next morning, we were able to reunite with Qrow and Summer, found the east, and took it down.” He finished.

“So from that point forward, you guys were finally friends.” Yang asked to which her father nodded. “How did you guys start dating?”

Taiyang chuckled at hearing that. “Ho boy, I remember our first date. I remember asking her out during our third year at Beacon to Spruce Willis’s first film. I figured that given her profession that she would love the film. It wasn’t until halfway through that I noticed her scowling due t the fact of how cheesy and unrealistic it was. Needless to say, it wasn’t the best first date. I remember how annoyed she was when we got back to our dorm and we didn’t talk about it for two weeks. Despite how bad it was, though, she was willing to give me another chance for some reason. I learned from my mistakes, things went better, and we married not to long after we graduated from Beacon. We then had you and you know the story from there.”

“Sounds like things went well between you two. I wonder why she left.”

Taiyang sighed. “Yang, that’s been something I have been wondering for the last eighteen years. We had a really good thing together from the time we were in Beacon and despite what you may think about her, I remember the brief time she was here with us and I can distinctly revision the love she had for you in her eyes. It looked as though she cared for you and then...she just left. One night we were sleeping in the same bed happily, the next I was all alone wit only you in the household.” He said.

“Sounds like she never left your thoughts completely?” Yang said in observation as she continued her lunch.

“I can’t say that she had, although to be honest, I won’t say it was all bad that she left. After all, me and Summer would have never gotten closer and eventually married had she stayed.” Taiyang said as a scroll rag from the living room. “I wonder who that is?” Taiyang said as he got up from his seat and walked out of the dining room to get his scroll.

Yang felt a little conflicted at hearing that. If what her father said was true and she did care for her family, then why leave them. It was something she had wanted to know for most of her life, a mystery that remained unsolved. Regardless, she had forgotten about it ever since she lost her arm and honestly felt a tiny bit of closure from hearing that. After all, if she hadn’t left, Summer would have never came into her and Taiyang's life and Ruby would have never entered the family.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard her father arguing with someone over the phone. She heard him saying something about being unable to come in and that he had to take care of his daughter. Hearing that annoyed Yang, so she got up and went into the living room , causing her father to turn around.

“Hang on for one second.” He said as he lowered the scroll from his ear and covered it with his hand to muffle the sound coming from his side of the phone. “It’s Glynda. She wants me to come back into Vale and help out with the huntsman clearing out the grimm. I told her that I need to stay and-” 

Taiyang stopped when his daughter interrupted him. “Dad, it alright. I can handle myself. Besides, there going to need all the help they can get in order to clear out the city.”

Taiyang was stunned from hearing that. “Are you sure? Cause it’s no big deal for me to stay and help.”

“I’m sure. Something tells me that you could use some stress relief as well. I’ll be fine” Yang said with a small smile.

Taiyang, although hesitant, raised the scroll back up to his ear. “Glynda, there’s been a change of plans. I can come in to help out. I’ll be there tomorrow. Your welcome. Bye.” He said as he hanged up the scroll and ended the call and placed the scroll on the coffee table. He went over to his daughter and hugged her again. “Thanks, Yang. I’ll be sure to prepare you meals for tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll be back before sunset. Who knows how bad it is over there.”

Yang hugged her father back tightly. “Your welcome. And thank you, dad, for being there for me for the past couple of months.” She said as the separated from one another. “Now, if there’s no further interruptions I’d like to finish lunch before it gets cold. Let’s go eat.” She said a little eagerly.

Taiyang couldn’t help but chuckle at her daughter’s honesty. “Sure thing, firecracker.”

 

\-----------------------------------

(Atlas: Present Day)

That night, in the middle of the capital of Atlas, two men were standing outside on a corner of a street, waiting for the bus. One was slightly overweight wearing an orange jacket and grey cargo pants and was eating a sandwich while the other was a skinnier man that was wearing a maroon long sleeved shirt and jeans with glasses. The two of them were silent until the one in maroon decided to speak up.

“Hey.” He said to the other man.

“Yeah?” The man in orange responded.

“You ever wonder why we're here?” the man in maroon asked.

The man in orange stared at him for a second, before holding an annoyed look on his face. “Are you serious? You're asking me that question again, Simmons?” The man asked incredulously.

The man known as Simmons held a mildly insulted look on his face as he was taken aback by his friend’s tone. “Well sooooooorrrrrrryyyyyy, jackass!! I only was trying to start up a conversation with you. No need to be a dick about it, Griff!”

“Yeah well if you insist on starting a conversation, try talking about something else other than asking about our place in life and the universe. Ask me about my day, what plans I have later, anything but the same thing you use everyday!” Griff exclaimed.

Simmons scoffed, clearly annoyed with his ‘friend’ as he would like to call it. “Look, are you still pissed over the fact that our boss likes me better than you?”

Griff laughed. “No!! I’m not pissed off that a kiss-ass gets to be praised by a lunatic while I get to keep my dignity. As a matter of a fact, that just makes me feel so giddy! Why would you ever think I would be mad about that?!!” He replied sarcastically.

Simmons groaned, getting nowhere with helping the man and being insulted instead. “Then what the hell is your problem? Surely you can tell me and not be a total asshole about it.”

Griff sighed. “It’s just...I’m so sick of my normal life. I can’t help but feel like everything is the same and nothing special ever happens to us. This city is so boring due to the fact that there is no action in. I just wish that something different”

Simmons shook his head. “Well that’s just stupid. You can’t expect your life to get more exciting one day. What do you think your in? A movie? A comic book? What you think something out of the ordinary is going to happen right this-?”

*FFFFFWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH!!!!!*

Griff and Simmons were knocked back through the air and fell on the ground as a blue streak of lightning instantly traveled through the street at a practically unmatchable speed right in front of them. The sheer force from the bolt moving past them was enough to send them flying a few meters without even being touched by it. Fortunately, neither one of them were hurt other than a few bruises , but they were clearly shaken by what had just transcribed

“Son of a Bitch!!! What the hell was that?!!” Griff exclaimed as they got up and recovered.

“You think I know?!! Whatever it was, it was fast?!! It almost seemed like lightning moving sideways!! I hope your happy, assshole!!” Simmons yelled.

“What the hell are you mad at me for?” Griff exclaimed.

“You wanted something to happen! Don’t you know better than to tempt fate like that?!! This is your fault!” Simmons said

“Aw stuff it!! God damn it. There goes my sandwich.” Griff said as he noticed his half-eaten sandwich was on the cement a few feet away, no longer a viable option for consummation.

(Cue Street Fighting Man by The Rolling Stones)

\-----------------------------

The lightning bolt traveled throughout Atlas and eventually enter the kingdom of Vale, nothing standing in its way whatsoever. At one point, there was a huge swarm of Beowolves, Ursa, and Deathstalkers together in a forest on the edge of Vale. This group would be enough trouble for a team of multiple elite huntsmen standing together. The lightning bolt simply went through them like they were butter, slicing some in half like butter and killing others by sheer force alone.

At the destroyed city of Vale, all was quiet except for the faint sounds of gunfire and grimm roaring. That is, until the lightning bolt entered through the south end of the establishment and went through the decimated city, turning at every street perfectly despite how fast it was going. Eventually, it traveled to a dead end were a derelict nightclub was once lively and filled with energy. The lightning bolt stopped, revealing a handsome young man in a red hoodie with yellow lines, jeans, and red running shoes with smaller blue lightning bolts hanging around in midair. He had a big grin on his face as he removed his hood and looked at the club where he made his base of operations.

“Home sweet home.” Thomas muttered happily as he strided into the building and out of the public view, not that anyone was around to see him anyway. He was lucky enough to not cross any huntsmen directly, not that it would have mattered considering how fast he was just going.

He entered the ruined nightclub and stepped down the damaged stairs that lead to the once lively dance floor. Now, you could barely recognize it as a dance floor as the dj booth was ruined and the ground was cluttered with holes and debris scattered all over.. The only thing that still seemed recognizable was the bar to the left with the red stools still present, some dirtied and others with the cushions missing. Normally, Thomas would have a drink from whatever alcohol was left in the place after returning to his temporary home.

Tonight was a different story, however, as he had a personal mission in need of completion.

Thomas went off to where the DJ’s booth was and walked behind it, revealing a staircase leading to the lower levels. He walked down the stairs and took out a flashlight from his pocket, turning it on to see where he was stepping.As he reached the end of the stairs, he came across a private lounge for high paying customers of the old business. He walked through the room where he shined his flashlights on the walls, looking for a certain object. At last, he found it in the shape of a white door in the back of the room. Thomas opened the door, revealing a little side room with breakers for the electricity of the club.

“Now let’s see...dance floor, DJ booth, restroom...AH! Here's the one for the private lounge.” He said as he grabbed the switch with his hand shaking in excitement. He firmly grasped it as he pulled it downward, causing a spark to come out of the system.

Thomas jumped back and looked to the lounge. To his growing excitement. The room began to come to life with the lights flickering on and the TVs on the walls powering up as well. Thomas jumped in the air in excitement.

“Yes!! Yes!!” The boy said as he raised his fist into the air and did a little victory dance. Finally, I have power to this place. Now then, let’s see if my work in Atlas, Vacuo, and Haven payed off. He thought to himself as he went over to one of the TVs and opened the cable box. After a few seconds of hard wiring, the box sprung to life, causing a late night show to pop on the screen.

“Hell yes!! I have cable!!! I knew I could get this place to act as a temporary CCT if I built that receptor correctly on the roof. Now, I can watch in favorite shows in peace and if my work with the tower payed off...” Thomas said as he took out a box from his jacket pocket and hardwired it to the cable box of a different TV, causing a 4-way camera screen to pop up on one of the other sets.. He once again raised his fist triumphantly as he sat in a black leather chair. “Fuck yeah!! Cameras are back online. Now, I have my eyes all over the city. Now I can make sure no one else discovers my little secret base.” He said happily, clearly proud of himself for succeeding in his task. His happiness faded when he saw what was on the screen.

(Music Ends)

He could see that merely a few blocks away, a team of young huntsmen were taking on a pack of beowolves in the ruined city. He turned down the volume of the tv with cable and turned up the volume of the other one in attempt to learn about the team. They were just finishing up the battle as the leader wearing black sunglasses and wielding a minigun switched her weapon back into a form of a purse.

What is with women and being stylish in everything they do? Thomas thought to himself as he observed the girl walk back to her team consisting of a larger kid with a giant sword, a rabbit faunus holding a holographic scythe which slowly disappeared, and a dark skinned red haired huntsmen with arm blades.

“Well, that's another pack down. Still no sign of what the hell caused that flash of light or noise.” The one women said to her teammates. Thomas was relieved that they hadn’t discovered him so far.

“Should we head back to base camp? It’s been a long day.” The dark skinned boy said.

Coco shook her head. “Hell with that! There are still plenty of these bastards around. Let’s deal with them here and now!” She said as she readied her gun again, only to yelp in pain from her ankle, causing the bunny faunus to come up to her and help her back up.

“Come on, Coco. It’s been a long day and we’ve already eliminated a lot of grimm. I think we’ve done enough for one day.” She said tugging on her arm, but the one known a Coc shook it off.

“It’s never enough!! They destroyed this town and the people who lived in it. This place used to be crowded with people smiling and enjoying their lives. Now, it’s a goddamn wasteland! If you want to go back and be a coward, then fine! As for me, I’m not just gonna sit by and watch this place get torn up any more.” She yelled at her.

The biggest huntsmen stepped in at last after seeing his friend and teammate hurt from what her lader just said.. “Coco! That’s enough!” He said to her, chastising her for what she had done.

Coco looked to Velvet, noticing how hurt she was from being yelled at like that. Coco’s eyes softened as she sighed. “Sorry Velv. Didn’t mean to say that. I’m just sick of all of this. The atmosphere is just nothing but darkness and misery and...I just let it get to me.” She said to her friend as she went up to her and enveloped her in a tight hug.

Velvet hesitated briefly before wrapping her arms around her. “It’s alright. You need to look at the situation differently. After all, there’s one less pack of grimm in the world. That’s something, right?” She said optimistically. 

Her attempt at cheering her leader up fell short when she gave a weak chuckle in response. “I suppose that is something. Thanks, Velv.” She responded as she looked to the rest of her teammates. “Come on. Let’s head back to base.”

The two boys looked at each other before nodding as the four walked down the street together and back to wherever there base was. The tone of the conversation easily indicated one thing: morale was not very strong among the huntsmen in Vale. 

Thomas took note of the four teens as they sauntered away around the corner and out of the camera’s view. His optimism over his achievement faded, now replaced with pity and remorse for the huntsmen. For six months the huntsmen have fought the grimm with little to no success. The city was still a giant war zone filled with grimm. How can someone stay so hopeful after what little progress has been made? They were doing their best, fighting every day against the beasts that laid claim to the city.

And what had he done? He had simply been doing things for his own gains rather than for the needs of others. Him, the fastest thing on the planet, the one who could very well deal with all of these monsters without even breaking a sweat. He could be a crucial element to the effort to restore Vale and what was his biggest concern? Why trying to get a successful TV reception of all things, of course.

He suddenly remembered Blake, that faunus girl from team RWBY who he was ‘saved’ by a few weeks back and helped get into Atlas. In reality, he was in no danger at all, he just remembered seeing the girl around town and was wondering why she wasn’t helping the huntsmen. So what did he do? He purposely got himself in what looked like a tight situation in order to get her to come to him. It wasn’t hard to pull off and he was able to simply make it look worse than it actually was.

Suffice to say, the trap worked. She came in and ‘saved’ him from certain death. As a result, he got her to come to his hideout and learned about what had been going on with her and her team. He never would have guessed that she would flat out leave her partner after she had saved her life and lost an arm for her, not to mention tell herself that leaving her would be the smartest way to keep her safe.

While Thomas did appreciate her selflessness for doing something like that, he felt as though her tactics were not among the most useful he had heard.

Eventually, he knocked some sense back into the poor girl and got her right back on track for reuniting with her team and getting things back to the way things were. That was the only thing he only did for others since the fall of Vale. What made it even worse was the fact that he did it without using his abilities, his greatest gift and talent. Why the hell wasn’t he using this more? Why the hell was he being so useless? Talk about hypocrisy at it’s finest.

Well, now it was time to do some good. 

Thomas shot up from his seat and walked right away from the tvs and went back towards the stairs leading up to the main dance floor. He had had enough. No more of being a useless hypocrite. He was gonna go and do something right in the world and nothing would stop him. Not even the photo he nailed to the wall next to the stairs.

!

Shit. There it goes again. Looking over to the right of the stairs towards the wall, he saw the picture of him sitting in front of a handsome man in his late thirties with brown hair, smiling happily to the camera as he was sitting at a table with computers in the middle of an abandoned airstrip. Thomas was wearing a red tracksuit with a helmet and running googles. That was the day. The day that he first really tested his powers, along with the man that was the closest thing he ever had to as a father. He sighed as he reached towards the photo, took it off the wall and stared into the very frame, the photo that he kept in the closet by the suit as a reminder of the past.

Everytime he looked at the photo, the same thoughts replayed in his mind: “You could have saved him. He’s dead because of you.” Ever since the day that he died, he never bothered to use his powers for the sake of others. Why would he when he could endanger those that were around him, like he endangered him and caused his death?

“Sorry, doc. I almost forgot what had happened to you. What the hell was I thinking? Thinking I could be a hero again, forgetting the past...talking to a portrait like it’s a person.” He said with complete sorrow. “Forgive me, Doctor Wells. Forgive me for being so careless.”

He stood there with the portrait, almost as if he was waiting for it to respond. Jeez, he must have been really out of it. He really needed to get some shuteye. He slowly put the picture back on the wall, walked back to the TVs and turned them off. He went back to the room where the breakers were, switching off the power to the room. He turned his flashlight back on as he went over to the stairway leading to the main floor. Right before he exited, he turned back to look at the private lounge he worked on to make as his hq. He sighed as he walked up the steps reluctantly, thinking deeply as he thought about everything that happened.

There would not be much sleep for him tonight.

End Chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Salem and Jaune have a little spar.
> 
> Welp, it’s finally finished. Man, I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to complete this one. I know I have been neglecting this story a lot in the past, but for the first time ever I truly felt like giving up for this chapter. I was having so much trouble writing this story, not to mention all the shit that’s been happening in my life for the past couple of months, and was worried that I may not be able to finish it. However, I was able to remember my promise to Ryan and honoring his memory, so I refuse to be defeated so easily.
> 
> I would also like to mention that I will be taking a short break from my story to write my review of Batman v Superman in the meantime. I plan to get to work asap and uploaded by the end of the month. It will most likely be on Deviant.art and will definitely contain spoilers, so don’t say that I didn't warn you.
> 
> And yes, my oc is the Flash in this story. Predictable? Maybe, but I did leave a clue in the second chapter(his adoptive mother being named Artemis being a young justice reference.) He will be a comedic-relief character in the story and one I hope to write as a person to bring laughter and ease tension in the tale. His suit will be the one like the CW tv show suit, but will gradually evolve into the Ezra Miller cinematic suit in the future. As for where his suit is, well, it will be revealed in a few more chapters. Also, just gonna say it now cause I know it is coming, please no reviews of me begging to not make him OP. I know you guys think someone like him in the RWBY verse will be OP, but I assure you that Salem will be shown in action later in the story and let me tell you: she will not be taken lightly by anyone whatsoever. Not to mention, there will be other DC villains in the fic, so that will even the odds in the battle of good vs evil. 
> 
> Lastly, this is my first update of the new year and, like I said before, I resolved to focus harder on this story and hopefully never neglect it again. I know that this is super late, but I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a happy New Year too. I’m so glad I have great fans who are willing to follow my story and put up with my bs!! Let’s hope for a great year for all of us!!!
> 
> If you like my story, follow it and leave me a review. If you’re viewing this on Archive of Our Own, leave a kudos. I greatly appreciate it!

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that’s it for chapter 1 of this tale. I’m going to be strictly focusing on this story until the end of the first act, hopefully by then I will have better ideas for the Infinity Crisis by then. I’m positive that you guys will enjoy this tale about Jaune and the others as they continue the fight against Salem and her allies. It will be a long-running story and will eventually follow the plots of Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman in some places. I assure you that there will be questions that will be answered later in the story I look forward to working on the next chapter and hearing reviews soon.


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